Former Red Bull Racing stalwart Mark Webber has no doubts what fellow Aussie Daniel Ricciardo will be doing at this time next year.
Ricciardo is still weighing his plans for 2019 but events of late have left him only reasonable option for the future: extend his lease at Milton Keynes and remain with Red Bull.
The seven-time Grand Prix winner had been lurking in the wings at both Mercedes and Ferrari, but both teams now appear to have decided their driver line-ups for next season, and neither one includes Ricciardo.
"I'd imagine he'll be staying," Webber told Speedcafe.com.
"I don't know how long obviously that commitment will be, but, let's see. It was worth waiting but (he's) probably going to stay where he is.
"He's in that sensational window at the moment where his stock is very, very high but we all know Lewis Hamilton is the main man.
"I mean, there is still main men, and that's what Formula 1 can be like, and you've got to sort of be in the right place, (at the) right time in a way to get those opportunities."
Second-tier teams McLaren and Renault have both expressed their interest in Ricciardo, who hasn't outright rejected the idea of joining a mid-field squad, although Webber believes that claim was likely more of a bargaining ploy destined to boost Red Bull rather than a genuine interest on the part of the Honey Badger.
"That (Red Bull) was all he had, really," said Webber.
"Telling these others teams, sort of mid-field at best, (they were) on the radar, I don’t know if that was just a bit of sort of bargaining to try and get Red Bull to move a bit.
"But at the end of the day, I spoke to him about it, he knows what my feelings are on this and you know it’s tricky to find if it’s greener somewhere else.
"The teams that are winning at the moment are settled and to try and get that last seat is extremely difficult."
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