F1 news: Christian Horner discusses Daniel Ricciardo future amid Ferrari and Mercedes talk

That’s the verdict of Red Bull team principal Christian Horner, who’s hailed the Australian for harnessing the right "balance of experience and pace".

Ricciardo began his third season with Red Bull at his home Grand Prix in Melbourne last month but he is only tied down until the end of the year.

A potential move to Ferrari or Mercedes has been talked up, with Ricciardo considering his next contract as the most important of his career.

However, Horner believes Red Bull can keep hold of the 28-year-old, who secured his first win of the season at last weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix.

"I think Daniel’s happy in the [Red Bull] environment," Horner told Formula1.com.

"If we can give him a car like we did [in China], why would he want to be anywhere else?"

Horner also reflected on the importance of Ricciardo’s success in Shanghai as the F1 title race begins to unfold.

"He had the energy store failure in Bahrain, he had a turbo failure [in China], losing him important track time," he added.

"You get to a point where you think what next but it’s a great confidence booster for him, to get this result now in this point in the year. Everything is wide open.

"He’s a very rounded driver now. He’s absolutely at the top of his game and I think he has been for the last couple of years.

"He’s hit that balance of experience and pace. He’s one of the best overtakers in the business and his judgement is impeccable in terms of judging a gap, getting the car stopped and getting it rotated.

"I feel he’s in a different part of his career to where Max [Verstappen] is at the moment, who is still very young and fresh and going through that experience."

Ricciardo will be eager to make his mark when the F1 campaign picks up at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix at the end of the month.

The Perth-born racer currently sits fourth in the drivers’ standings, 17 points adrift of leader Sebastian Vettel.