Ricciardo to 'talk to Honda' before decision

Jun.23 - Daniel Ricciardo says he will "talk to Honda" as he makes his decision about which team to drive for in 2019.

After Red Bull made the decision to swap Renault for Honda engines next year, Australian Ricciardo is now weighing up offers from Red Bull, McLaren and perhaps Ferrari and Mercedes.

"Next week, Red Bull will push for a decision from me," Ricciardo said at Paul Ricard.

"I want to talk to Honda to better understand the transition to their engine. I'm trying to put the puzzle together but I'm optimistic," he told Sky Italia.

McLaren boss Eric Boullier confirmed there is a "normal, gentle discussion" underway with Ricciardo, as the British team undoubtedly looks for a potential replacement for Fernando Alonso.

"We love Daniel and personally I've known him for many, many years," said the Frenchman.

"As long as a driver of that calibre is on the market you look if there is any discussion possible," Boullier added.

If Ricciardo does jump ship, Red Bull is likely to pluck the 'on loan' Carlos Sainz back from Renault.

"The market is a bit strange," admitted Renault advisor Alain Prost, "but we are happy with the drivers we have.

"We will see how it will change over the next few weeks."

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Leopold

Leopold Pleijsier founded F1-Fansite.com in 2001 and has followed Formula 1 since the early 1980s. He writes about daily F1 news, race weekends, drivers and the sport’s history.

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