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Formula One: What Daniel Ricciardo wants in his next contract

By Asher Fair

ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - NOVEMBER 26: Daniel Ricciardo of Australia driving the (3) Red Bull Racing Red Bull-TAG Heuer RB13 TAG Heuer leads Kimi Raikkonen of Finland driving the (7) Scuderia Ferrari SF70H and Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (33) Red Bull Racing Red Bull-TAG Heuer RB13 TAG Heuer on track during the Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit on November 26, 2017 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)
ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - NOVEMBER 26: Daniel Ricciardo of Australia driving the (3) Red Bull Racing Red Bull-TAG Heuer RB13 TAG Heuer leads Kimi Raikkonen of Finland driving the (7) Scuderia Ferrari SF70H and Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (33) Red Bull Racing Red Bull-TAG Heuer RB13 TAG Heuer on track during the Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit on November 26, 2017 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images) /
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Some athletes want money. Others want to compete for championships. Formula One driver Daniel Ricciardo will be looking for the latter in his next contract.

Daniel Ricciardo, 28, is set to drive full-time in Formula One for the seventh season in 2018. The 2018 season is set to be his fifth season as a driver for Red Bull Racing after he spent two years driving full-time for the Red Bull junior team, Scuderia Toro Rosso, following the 2011 season during which he drove in 11 races for HRT.

The 2018 season is the final season for Ricciardo with Red Bull Racing under his current contract. Should his frustration with the team continue throughout the season, he may very well become a free agent, in which case he would put a competitive car over the money when it comes to signing his next contract.

Here is what Ricciardo had to say about the matter back in November, according to insidesport.com.au.

"“It’s the first time we’ve been in this position so I want to make the most of it. I still want to do it respectfully. I’ll be open in discussions with them and won’t keep any secrets. Obviously I have got power to negotiate financial things as well but the first box I want to tick is performance. I’m still definitely competitive enough to chase the faster car and not the bigger bucks, I’m not at that end of my career.“I won’t change my (management) structure. I’ve never had a big team around me. I’ve got my lawyer who helps me out with these things. Because I am out of contract next year and I do hold a few cards at least, I don’t think I need to rush it but if Christian (Horner) and Helmut (Marko) express interest in wanting to keep me then that’s nice to hear. It’s better than them saying ‘we can’t wait for Ricciardo to leave’.”"

It is widely believed that Ricciardo would become the top target for both Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport and Scuderia Ferrari in the 2019 Formula One season should he end his tenure as a full-time driver for Red Bull Racing after five seasons and his tenure as a full-time driver within the Red Bull organization after seven.

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Ricciardo’s desires for a car that will  allow him to compete for race wins and championships on a regular basis are no surprise given that his recently mounting frustrations with Red Bull Racing have stemmed as a result of the fact that the team’s cars have experienced reliability issues as of late.

In the 2017 season, Ricciardo was forced to retire in six of the 20 races, with a number of those retirements coming as a result of the lack of reliability in his car’s Renault power unit. Three of those six retirements came in the final four races of the season, which ended up costing the 28-year-old a 4th place finish in the drivers standings.

Next: Who is the greatest Formula One driver of all-time?

After his recent frustrations, it comes as no surprise that Daniel Ricciardo, who has five career Formula One victories to his name and two career-high finishes of 3rd place in the drivers standings, says that he will value competing for race wins and championships more so than he will money when it comes to his next contract. Which team will he end up driving for in the 2019 season?

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