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Shanghai - Daniel Ricciardo may be staking a claim on the seat alongside Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes for 2019.
The Australian is on the market and not yet committing to a new Red Bull deal.
'I didnt care if Seb or Valtteri won'
So it's notable that he was among those who criticised Hamilton's current teammate Valtteri Bottas for not mounting a tougher challenge to win in Bahrain a week ago.
READ: F1: Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo previews upcoming Bahrain and Chinese GPs
Ricciardo told reporters in China that he caught the end of the Bahrain grand prix on his hotel television after retiring from the race.
I didn't care if Seb or Valtteri won," he said. "But when I watch a race, I hope something exciting happens.
"So I was saying 'Go, go, go!' to Valtteri. Attack him! That's what the fans want to see. But it didn't happen," Ricciardo was quoted as saying by Auto Motor und Sport.
'Happy with second'
"I wouldn't have been happy with second. Especially if the win is within reach like that. It's not in me," he added.
When asked about that sort of criticism of his Bahrain tactics, Bottas said it doesn't bother him.
"It's not hard for me to handle," said the Finn. "I don't care about comments from the outside.
"I've analysed everything and if I was in the same situation again, I wouldn't have done anything else. That's why I can live with it and people can say what they want."