Formula 1: Will Daniel Ricciardo drive for McLaren in 2019?

There are several teams for which Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo could drive in the 2019 Formula 1 season. Is McLaren one of them?

Aston Martin Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo is in the final season of his current contract driving for Red Bull Racing in Formula 1, and it is unknown for which team he will end up driving next season.

It was widely believed that the 28-year-old would end up driving for either Mercedes-AMG Petronas or Scuderia Ferrari, the sport’s two top teams, next season given the fact that he is one of the most talented drivers in the sport.

However, Mercedes revealed last month that they are not currently looking at potentially hiring a driver from a rival team to drive for the them next season despite the fact that both of their drivers, four-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas, are currently driving on contracts that expire at the end of this season.

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Ferrari, the team that signed four-time Formula 1 Sebastian Vettel to a new contract last summer to keep him through the 2020 season, have now revealed that they are ready to replace 2007 Formula 1 champion Kimi Raikkonen with 20-year-old Charles Leclerc, the member of the Ferrari Driver Academy who currently drives for Alfa Romeo Sauber in Formula 1, next season, although nothing in regard to this move has been officially confirmed.

This means that a move to either Mercedes or Ferrari is not as likely as it once was for Ricciardo. While he could certainly stay at Red Bull Racing along with Max Verstappen, who the team signed through the 2020 season late last season, the team just announced that they will be switching from Renault engines to Honda engines next season, which may not be something that appeals to Ricciardo given the fact that the Honda engines were very unreliable when McLaren, the team that switched from Honda engines to Renault engines before this season, used them from the 2015 season to the 2017 season.

Ricciardo has until August to decide if he wants to stay with Red Bull Racing. But if he decides against doing that and he is unable to land a ride with Mercedes or Ferrari, where would he end up? McLaren is a potential option, and they are already reportedly in talks with him.

It has been rumored that two-time Formula 1 champion Fernando Alonso will likely leave McLaren following the conclusion of the 2018 season, and 18-year-old McLaren reserve driver Lando Norris has already been rumored as his likely replacement, meaning that if Ricciardo ends up driving for the team in the 2019 season, he would likely replace Stoffel Vandoorne.

Would Ricciardo consider driving for McLaren in the 2019 season? Here is what he had to say about the matter, according to ESPN.

"“I’ll be honest, everyone is talking about Mercedes and Ferrari as potential places for me to go, but I’m aware there is going to be interest from other teams and McLaren is probably one of them. Probably it depends on what Fernando [Alonso] does, if he stays or if he goes.“If he does go, they probably want a more experienced driver to come in. We’ll see. There are a lot of things to weigh up. Nothing really to comment on that.“I’m not going to say it doesn’t interest me at all. Probably more because what Lewis [Hamilton] was able to do with Mercedes. If you’re saying those two teams, they are not quite in that position yet, but could they be? Maybe.“The thought of that has some appeal. I wouldn’t say it’s top of my list now. But I wouldn’t dismiss it also. I’ve said with Red Bull that I’m also careful not to, just from a personal point of view, burn bridges because you never know where the sport will take you. If I do move on from Red Bull, I never want to criticise them.“I’ve had it pretty good there and it’s been really fun. McLaren and Renault aren’t there today but maybe they will be there in a year or three years’ time. You never know.“Lewis pulled the trigger pretty well. Whether he fluked it or he said it was going to happen, I don’t know! Whether he fluked it or not, he did well for himself with that move. Whether it’s just a fantasy for everyone else, at least there is some proof something like that can happen again.”"

Next: Top 10 Formula 1 drivers of all-time

Which team will Daniel Ricciardo drive for in the 2019 Formula 1 season? WiIl he drive for McLaren for the first time in his Formula 1 career? Will he stay at Red Bull Racing? Will he drive for a different team such as Mercedes or Ferrari or even Renault?

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