Ricciardo keeps future open: 'Try not to put too much stress on it'

"I’m trying not to put too much stress on it," Ricciardo told GPblog and others during a press event. "I know that being here at the launch does excite me and it is a cool feeling but I’m also really happy to be taking the year I’m taking, at least currently where I sit it does feel right."

It doesn't mean that Ricciardo wants to let his concentration slip. Although he has less to do than he normally would with a permanent place with a team, he wants to work hard to help Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen make it a great season.

"I’m going to go to the Super Bowl next weekend and then I’ll start to get back into a bit more of a regime and a bit more training and stuff but it still feels right where I’m at and I’ll see what happens over the course of the next couple months but I don’t think anything needs to be rushed, I need to stay sharp enough that if I do need to jump in spontaneously then I’m not 20 kilos overweight, but I look pretty good right now so I think I’m alright."

Enthusiasm from Marko

Helmut Marko spoke very positively about Ricciardo's arrival just last month. According to Red Bull's advisor, the Austrian formation did not only bring him in because of his performance on the track, but the team was also looking at other things.