Daniel Ricciardo thinks he will head into the forthcoming summer break with his hopes of remaining in Formula 1 beyond 2024 still alive.
The 34-year-old Australian admits that, having not outpaced Yuki Tsunoda this year as per his brief, he basically has no other option other than a renewed RB seat for 2025.
Red Bull F1 consultant Dr Helmut Marko is now suddenly making very clear statements that Liam Lawson will be offered a cockpit next season - as the hopeful young New Zealander’s contract stipulates.
That’s dire news for Ricciardo, but the experienced Australian driver actually thinks he is now hitting another patch of strong form.
"I feel like this (Austria) was the third weekend in a row that I’ve made the most of everything," he said. "Still looking for perfection, but yeah, that’s three in a row.
"We just have to keep going now."
As for Marko’s ominous statements, Ricciardo suggests he can still change his boss’s mind.
"I’ve known Helmut for a very long time and ultimately he doesn’t care about personality," he said. "He is interested in the stopwatch and the result," .
"So if you can give that to him, even if he didn’t think much of you until then, he can suddenly change."
RB CEO Peter Bayer says he and his fellow Red Bull decision-makers will not meet to discuss Ricciardo and Lawson’s futures until the "summer break".
A saving grave for Ricciardo could be Sergio Perez’s continuing lagging form even after signing a new - and apparently highly conditional - contract recently.
If a seat at Red Bull Racing opens up, Tsunoda might be promoted to the top team, leaving Ricciardo in place at Faenza-based RB alongside rookie Lawson.
"We now need more performance from Sergio," Marko told Speed Week this week, after another disappointing outing for the Mexican at the Red Bull Ring. "It is not possible for him to finish behind a Haas."
Former F1 driver Alex Wurz agrees that Perez’s form is a problem for Red Bull’s constructors’ championship campaign.
"From a team perspective, you need him up there to take the points that were given away by Max and Lando (Norris)" in Austria, Wurz told Kronen Zeitung newspaper.
"When it gets as close as it is now, it’s suddenly no longer the case that you can rely only on Max."