Corsair wrote:According to some sources (like The Age yesterday) he's already got it. But then again, according to others (like The Age today), he may not.
I wouldn't have thought he'd be Red Bull's second or even third choice, but maybe it's better to promote in house and others are too hard to extricate from their contracts.
I think Ricciardo is a good choice.
The last thing Red Bull want right now is another battle between their own two drivers. Ricciardo is guy on the way up, but he's a good few years behind Vettel in terms of maturity and ability at the F1 level. This will give Vettel a few years of breathing room where he can be the undisputed number one driver in the team, and gives Ricciardo plenty of opportunity to grow without significant pressure on him. He'll learn a lot, and as Vettel starts to either fade or look for another team, Red Bull will have built Ricciardo's confidence, ability and loyalty, meaning that they have a new number one driver in the (Red Bull gives you) wings to step up when required - and all without worrying about having to break contracts or offer stupid money to get someone to move across.
It's a win for everyone involved.