Ricciardo expects driver shake-up despite rules delay

Daniel Ricciardo says that he still expects to see a big shakeup on the grid at the end of this season despite all the disruption caused by the global spread of coronavirus.

The Australian's current contract with Renault expires at the end of the current season, one of a large number of top names who will be free agents after 2020 including Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel.

Many F1 stars planned the timing of their existing contracts to allow them to take stock of the situation right before the introduction of major new technical rules and regulations in 2021.

However the pandemic has forced F1 to delay that reform by a year meaning that teams won't introduce new cars until 2022.

• Renault 'wouldn't say no' to Vettel if Ricciardo departs

The current uncertainty about when or even if the 2020 championship is also a factor affecting drivers when it comes to deciding their future, with seven races currently either postponed or cancelled outright and no firm date for racing to resume.

But Ricciardo says that he expects life to go on as normal when it comes to the complex work of F1 negotiations and contracts.

"Everything's messed up right now and it's hard to say," he told The Age newspaper last week, while taking precautions against COVID-19 by staying put in his home in rural Western Australia.

"But my best guess is that people will make the decisions they want to irrespective of how things have changed.

"I find it hard to believe that anyone would sign a one-year deal just to be a free agent for '22 because of the risks involved," he explained.

"Unless you're in a unique situation, one year is normally far from ideal, so I imagine any contracts signed from now will carry over from the old regs to the new regs now coming on for '22."

"It does make it interesting when you consider most of us aren't contracted after this year besides Max and Charles."

Max Verstappen has already confirmed his stay at Red Bull through to the end of the 2023, seemingly in a move by the team to prevent their star driver succumbing to a lucrative approach from rivals Mercedes.

And Ferrari also made it clear that they saw their future in the hands of 22-year-old Charles Leclerc, who finished just behind Verstappen in the 2019 drivers championship - beating his team mate, four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel in the process.

Ferrari maintain that their preferred option is to retain Vettel beyond the end of 2020, with team principal Mattia Binotto insisting that the deal could be swiftly done "over dinner' - although presumably that will have to wait until after Italy emerges from its stringent anto-coronavirus lockdown.

Meanwhile Mercedes is negotiating with Lewis Hamilton to extend the reigning world champion's stay at Brackley. Whether he will still be paired up with Valtteri Bottas remains to be seen.

Ricciardo is certainly keeping an eye on developments across the board. Since his shock decision to leave Red Bull at the end of 2019, he's been less than thrilled with the progress of Renault and is alert to any possible openings in a top team.

Replacing Bottas at Mercedes is one option, while a spot at Ferrari would be impossible to resists should Vettel opt to move on or retire from the sport.

It's not even completely impossible that Ricciardo could return to his old team if Alexander Albon isn't able to prove himself in his first full season at Red Bull.

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