Daniel Ricciardo expects his new contract with Red Bull to be signed by the time Formula 1 returns from its summer break at the end of August.
The Australian’s current deal is due to expire at the end of the year but after it became apparent Mercedes or Ferrari would not be interested in signing him up, he has been locked in negotiations with his Austrian team.
It was initially thought Red Bull would announce Ricciardo’s new contract prior to the summer break but that proved not to be the case.
However, the 29-year-old is confident it will be confirmed by the time the season resumes at the Belgian Grand Prix later this month.
“It will definitely be done by Spa,” Ricciardo said after testing in Budapest.
“Whether it gets announced over the summer break or in Spa [I don’t know].
“It’s just a little bit of fine tuning here and there. It’s all good. You will hear something soon, I’m sure.”
Ricciardo’s new deal is likely to be for two years and it will put him in line with the other leading drivers such as Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen.
The former Toro Rosso driver currently sits fifth in the Drivers’ Championship standings after winning two races to date this season in China and Monaco.
Ricciardo also has a good recent record at the Belgium Grand Prix – he won at Spa back in 2014 – while he has finished on the podium in each of the last two years.
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