If nothing else, any team considering signing Daniel Ricciardo, who is out of contract at the end of the year, should have finally been convinced of the Australian's talent - and popularity - by his amazing win in China yesterday.

Said to be under close scrutiny from a number of teams, including Mercedes and Ferrari, the Australian has put talks with his current employers on hold as he awaits news of its engine plans for 2018 and beyond.

Yesterday's win came with Renault - as have all the Austrian team's wins - but there is growing speculation that the Milton Keynes-based outfit will join sister team Toro Rosso in switching to Honda. Indeed, asked at the weekend if Honda has engineers based in Faenza, Toro Rosso team boss, Franz Tost, admitted: "No, the Honda engineers are based... some of them are based in Milton Keynes, because Honda has there as well an R&D department."

As Ricciardo continues considering his options, Christian Horner believes he would be best suited staying put.

"I think Daniel's happy in the environment," the Briton told reporters in the wake of Ricciardo's Shanghai surprise. "If we can give him a car like we did today, why would he want to be anywhere else?"

"He had the energy store failure in Bahrain, he had a turbo failure here yesterday, losing him important track time," he admitted, both instances down to Renault.

"You get to a point where you think 'what next?'. But it's a great confidence booster for him, to get this result now in this point in the year. Everything is wide open."

Of course, some might say that while Mercedes and Ferrari can offer him winning, more reliable, equipment, albeit alongside a teammate demanding number one status, the Australian should remain where he is… ignoring the precocious young Dutch elephant in the room.

Then again, with an eye on Red Bull's history, most notably the experiences of countryman Mark Webber and rising star Sebastian Vettel, perhaps Daniel should consider the adage about those not learning from the past being doomed to repeat it.

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by Thomas1, 17/04/2018 13:43

"If Red Bull moves to Honda engine in 2019, then Daniel has more freedom to make the best choice. He can choose to move to Renault F1 or to McLaren F1. That will set him up for WTC title next year. If Reb Bull stays with the Tag labeled Renault engine, Daniel should stay with the team to win this year and next year WTC titles, if possible. If he can get 8 wins and 4th or 5th place in other races with "Good" reliability on engine and chasis side, he will be winner this year itself. Max can move to Toro "

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2. Posted by Joop deBruin, 17/04/2018 2:48

"Should be interesting as Renault and Honda both are at risk of not having corporate backing for F1 past 2019."

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3. Posted by ESTM PRFT, 16/04/2018 23:34

"Chris,
My apologies. It was poor terminology on my part to say that. I visit this site and comment because you have the most integrity and knowledege of any F1 sites I know of, and the commentators are usually well balanced. Once again, mea culpa."

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4. Posted by Editor, 16/04/2018 19:11

"@ ESTM PRFT

We don't do "click bait""

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5. Posted by ESTM PRFT, 16/04/2018 19:06

"Knowing that the title is just "Click Bait", all the same: Honey Badger don't care (For many reasons - $, next year's motor, equal status, opportunity/challenges, superior equipment, etc.). That's why Honey Badger don't give a sxxx about words. Actions count!"

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6. Posted by F1 Yank, 16/04/2018 17:23

"The RedBull Chasis is a good one. It seems that the gremlins plague RIC more than VER most of the time and this past weekend was another example. With the turbo issue being resolved with minutes to spare and the safety car / pit option during the race gave RIC new life when his race would have been mired. It was great to see cars charging and challenging at the end of a race. Amazing the temp was fairly low and I am surprised many teams attempted the medium compound tires going for a one stop. The two stop would have been the way to go and Redbull gambled on it when they would not normally have. Where would RIC go? Perhaps it is time for new ground to be explored. Many contemplate this."

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7. Posted by mds167, 16/04/2018 16:44

"Or even Honda’s"

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8. Posted by mds167, 16/04/2018 16:43

"Edit: Hobda’s UK F1 base"

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9. Posted by mds167, 16/04/2018 16:42

"Whilst it is a coincidence, Honda’s F1 base has been in MK since it returned to F1 and partnered McLaren. Moving development to Faenza would probably have put back the programme and not made sense as they had previously looked to increase the team size there anticipating an increased workload as they supported a second team."

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Horner: Why would he want to be anywhere else?

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