Yesterday, it was confirmed that Esteban Ocon would leave Alpine, sparking suggestions Jack Doohan could replace him at the Enstone squad.

Like Ocon, Ricciardo is also out of contract at the end of the season after signing a one-year race deal with RB.

The Australian remains a Red Bull Racing driver, loaned out to the sister operation, as is Yuki Tsunoda.

Speaking with Speedcafe in March, Ricciardo admitted that he would be happy to remain at RB next season should a drive at the senior team not be forthcoming.

That looks highly likely, with Sergio Perez expected to be announced as Max Verstappen’s team-mate for 2025 at least.

At RB, Ricciardo has offered the team depth and experience that it has never previously had.

That’s led it down different set-up routes, netting positive results and pushing the team into new areas with regard to development.

On track, however, it’s been more difficult.

It was a rough start to the year, but the 34-year-old delivered fourth place in the Miami Sprint, demonstrating the speed and ability remains.

Unlocking it consistently has been the challenge, a point Ricciardo has acknowledged.

For the moment, that remains his focus, and not the busy silly season, despite positive comments from team CEO Peter Bayer.

“I think we’re very happy with both of our drivers,” Bayer said in Monaco.

“And honestly, we’re not wasting time with discussing ifs and whens. We have a very strong line-up.

“We have a great reserve driver. We have great talent coming through F2, F3.

“Currently, it’s all about focusing on performance. And perhaps the focus is more on Aston Martin in front of us than on driver discussions.”

That was viewed as a sign of faith in Ricciardo, for which the eight-time race winner was thankful but not getting carried away with.

“I’ll be honest, I haven’t really given it too much time,” Ricciardo began.

“Yes, that’s great to hear, and yes, that would be awesome, but I want to be doing better consistently.

“The team’s been great and they’ve been really, really supportive, and obviously they know I can do it,” he added.

“It’s been a bit more of a struggle this year to do it week-in, week-out.

“That’s really where my focus is now as opposed to getting too comfortable or excited about what the future holds.

“I want to be doing that, whether that’s car or me, I just want to be doing better.”