Daniel Ricciardo was disappointed after missing the French Grand Prix podium but there's plenty of reasons for the Australian to be optimistic as he edges closer to sorting out his F1 future.
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Ricciardo was well positioned for a strong finish at the Le Castellet track near Marseille on Sunday before picking up wing damage ahead of a pit stop.
That ruined any chance he had of challenging the frontrunners as Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton cantered to a seven-second victory ahead of Ricciardo's Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen and Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen.
Despite finishing fourth, he sits only behind four-time title winners Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel in the championship standings after overtaking Valtteri Bottas.
Mercedes' Bottas collided with Vettel at the start to put a hole in the chances of both drivers in the race.
"I'm obviously a bit disappointed and it's a shame to lose out on the podium today," Ricciardo said.
"We were definitely quicker than fourth place and it could have been a good battle with (Red Bull teammate) Max (Verstappen).
The positive is that we got some decent points but we were definitely quicker than fourth and just unlucky this afternoon."
Hamilton (145) has built a 14-point gap on Vettel, while Ricciardo is 49 points off the lead.
It was an eventful lead-up the French event for Ricciardo, with McLaren reportedly prepared to offer him a mammoth $20 million offer to swap from Red Bull.
It's also been suggested he could make a switch to Mercedes or Ferrari, but Ricciardo believes Hamilton and Vettel will remain with their teams.
"There's certainly some interest and that's not news to anyone," Ricciardo said.
"Getting a few wins already this year creates some interest and I've helped myself out there."
Australian Associated Press
