RBR have quietly taken up the option on Ricciardo's contract for next year.

[Scott]

Time to add Ricciardo to the list of 'pinned' drivers, isn't it Wizzo?

I'm not surprised that they have taken up the option, in fact they used to decide on Mark's following year by May or June each season, so some might say it's about time.

What is interesting to see is that he is apparently on a fairly decent win-bonus plan of between $1 and $2m per win on top of his almost $4m salary.  Well, if Merc have some more issues, Daniel could walk out of 2014 with a pretty decent pay check.

I also wonder what his new contract is worth...I would guess at least double of the one he has now.

http://www.auto123.com/en/racing-news/f1-red-bull-takes-up-option-on-daniel-ricciardo-contract?artid=168415

[John S]

What's this quietly Scott, all the news sites are reporting it. 

Horner has mentioned several time at previous races that Danny's seat was safe for 2015, this is just box ticking from the team's point of view. Be hard not to hand him the seat as a just reward for winning against the odds in Canada, surely?

 

[Scott]

When I posted it, I had only found it on one site.

...and Horner always says that.

...and finally John, I wasn't at all questioning the logic of it, but I hope teams don't hand out annual contracts as rewards for winning one race.

[lkjohnson1950]

It quite interests me how much difference there is between the R/B and the Toro Rosso. DR didn't seem too impressive to me in the T/R, but he has pretty much matched (beaten?) Vettel in the R/B. How fast really are guys like Chilton, Hulk etc if they had a really top line car?

[John S]

It quite interests me how much difference there is between the R/B and the Toro Rosso. DR didn't seem too impressive to me in the T/R, but he has pretty much matched (beaten?) Vettel in the R/B. How fast really are guys like Chilton, Hulk etc if they had a really top line car?

To answer your RBR/STR question a helluva lot.
We can't compare Dan's performance at STR with Vettel's much talked about win in the STR, it was essentially a year old RBR so doesn't count. The FIA put paid to the use of cast offs by RBR/STR & Honda/Super Aguri at the end of that year, 08, anyway.

Your second question is a real $64,000 teaser, this is the problem that wakes the team principals in a cold sweat from their night time dreams of lifting the WCC. 
Anyone who claims to know the answer is a better man than you or me Lonny. 

[Irisado]

There are no surprises that Red Bull have done this.  He's had a really impressive season thus far, and he's definitely got the potential to win the world championship.