The future of Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo is up in the air, with his home from the 2019 season onwards still uncertain.

The 28-year-old’s contract expires at the end of this year, and it is not yet clear if he intends to stay on with Red Bull or look elsewhere for a better chance at securing his first championship.

With 72 points to date, the winner of this year’s Monaco Grand Prix currently sits third behind only Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel in the standings.

Despite being comfortably ahead of teammate Max Verstappen, who currently lies in sixth, there is still some question over which the team favours as their primary driver.

The 20-year-old Dutchman has struggled throughout this season, remarkably being involved in an incident or collision during all eight race weekends so far, but with youth on his side, the team are sticking by him for now.

If Ricciardo is serious about winning his first title, there are only three teams that can realistically provide him with the car to do so.

Either he stays with Red Bull, or he looks to head to Mercedes or Ferrari.

It is widely assumed that reigning champion Hamilton will renew his contract to remain at Mercedes next season, and whilst Valtteri Bottas’ contract expires at the end of the season, it appears likely that they will also retain his services for 2019.

Ferrari’s Vettel is already under contract for next season, but their second seat seems to be up for grabs, with some suggesting they may promote young Monegasque driver Charles LeClerc, who has been driving at Sauber this season.

This is a problem that Sky Sports F1 pundit Martin Brundle has brought to fans' attention in a recent interview.

"Lewis will stay at Mercedes. They're just arguing over whether he has the M&Ms without the green ones in them or something like that, the detail at the end of it," Brundle said.

"I think they'll be comfortable keeping Bottas alongside him.

"It will be interesting to see what Ferrari do.

"Daniel finds himself in a very odd position. He is going so well but Vettel kind of owns the driving seats at Ferrari, Hamilton at Mercedes and, it seems, Verstappen at Red Bull. So despite his form he's finding himself without a clear path.

"Will he be concerned about a Red Bull-Honda, if indeed they go that way? We'll have to wait and see. But it's strange times for Ricciardo."

Vettel is also keen for current teammate Kimi Raikkonen to be retained, but despite this, a move for Ricciardo is not totally off the cards.

However, the Australian would likely face playing second fiddle to either Vettel at Ferrari, or to Hamilton at Mercedes, with both being the established first drivers at their respective teams.

He may, therefore, decide that staying at Red Bull and battling Verstappen for the leading role is the better option.