Daniel Ricciardo speaks out amid links to Lewis Hamilton's vacant seat at Mercedes

Aussie F1 star Daniel Ricciardo has refused to rule himself out of a potential switch to Mercedes following the bombshell news that Lewis Hamilton is vacating his seat to head to Ferrari at the end of the 2024 season. Hamilton, a seven-time F1 world champion, has activated a release option in his contract and will leave Mercedes at the end of the year.

Ricciardo started last year as a reserve driver for Red Bull but was promptly promoted to a full-time driver with their junior team AlphaTauri - now called Visa Cash App RB. After some fine form last season, the Aussie was floated as a potential No.2 driver to Red Bull's Max Verstappen but team boss Christian Horner confirmed the struggling Sergio Perez will retain his seat in the main team for 2024.

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After the Hamilton development Ricciardo was immediately linked with a potential switch to the Silver Arrows but since then almost the entire grid has been rumoured to be interested in the vacant seat. Max Verstappen, Fernando Alonso and fellow Aussie Oscar Piastri are all viewed as potential options to replace the seven-time world champion at Mercedes. When pressed on if he was open to the move, Ricciardo refused to comment on speculation, saying he is only focused on the next race.

"I'm definitely not looking that far ahead," Ricciardo said. "At this part of my career, looking ahead feels a bit like a year closer to the end. So it’s more reason for me to be there now and really take it race by race.

"I guess in their (Mercedes’) position, they are in no rush. So they will judge everyone, how they are doing, the driver market, whatever. So I think this is a good position for them. Part of me is also happy not to be involved in all this crazy stuff, especially this early in the season. So if the silly season happens without me, that's fine with me at this point."

Karun Chandhok believes Oscar Piastri is ideal Lewis Hamilton replacement

Piastri is one of the drivers viewed as a leading option to replace Hamilton, despite the fact he is one of the very few F1 drivers tied down long-term. Hamilton's shock defection is expected to trigger a mass shakeup for 2025, with numerous drivers off-contract at the end of the year.

Piastri, however, is not one of them. He recently signed a two-year extension in September that will see him contracted to McLaren until the end of 2026. His deal is currently the second longest in the F1, with only back-to-back-to-back world champion Max Verstappen's contract with Red Bull longer, with his contract until the end of 2028.

But former driver-turned-pundit Karun Chandhok told the Sky Sports F1 show that Piastri's manager Mark Webber could get him out of his contract if he wants to join Mercedes. "We know Oscar has a contract with McLaren, but Mark Webber has negotiated plenty of F1 contracts in the past and I'm sure there will be an escape clause somewhere, as we've seen with Lewis," Chandhok said.

"Oscar's debut season was brilliant – he had weaknesses in his race pace no doubt about it, but he has another season to build on that," Chandhok continued. "I think Oscar and George (Russell) as a line-up at Mercedes is a good one."

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