Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo is assessing his options for 2019. However, his teammate Max Verstappen wants Ricciardo to remain as his partner in Formula 1. Verstappen’s Red Bull contract runs through 2020, but his teammate’s contract ends after the 2018 season. The Australian is currently weighing his choices between sticking with Red Bull or moving to a rival team for 2019. However, Verstappen wishes that things would remain the same.

Vrstappen said, “We have a lot of respect for each other and frankly, in my racing career so far, I’ve never had that much to do with a teammate. Even if we give anything to fighting hard with one another on the track, Daniel is a great guy and we have a lot of fun next to the track. So I hope that we will be teammates for a very long time.”

The 20-year-old Dutchman believes that their bond is so strong that even an intense world championship fight cannot sour it.

He continued, “I think so because we respect each other. Sure, when you fight for the title it gets more intense, but in the end you come back to that mutual respect. You have to accept when someone is faster and I think we can do that. If one of us has a good race, the other one says that he really deserves it – and I think that’s very important.”

Red Bull finished third in the 2017 constructors’ championship behind Mercedes and Ferrari. Their season was spoilt by numerous reliability issues that forced at least one car to break down. Hopefully for their sake, Renault are able to get on top of things for the 2018 season if they are to mount any challenge to their rivals. This season is also important for another reason. Although Verstappen wants Ricciardo to stay with Red Bull, Dan will use the season to assess Red Bull’s competitiveness. The car’s pace will be crucial in shaping the Australian’s decision.