Daniel Ricciardo says he hopes his former team-mate Sebastian Vettel continues racing in F1 beyond this season despite the lack of clarity around his future following♕ the decision to exit Ferrari at end of 2020.

Vettel k🅺ickstarted a round of musical chairs in the F1 driver market earlier this month when he confirmed his tenure at Ferrari will cease later this year, prompting Carlos Sainz to take his seat in the Italian team and Ricciardo to rep🦄lace the Spaniard at McLaren.

However, Vettel’s decision to leave Ferrari without having a deal in place for 2021 threatens to leave him with limited opti♏ons should he want๊ to continue.

As it stands, rumours have circulated that his availability has piqued the interest of the top brass at Mercedes to draft him in alongside Lewꦦis Hamilton, though many fear any ensuing inter-team rivalry could have a destabilising effect for the multiple title-winning outfit.

With Red Bull rulin🐻g out making a bid for its four-time World Champion, Vettel could be looking at taking a punt on the current mid-field runners, with Renault and the rebranded Aston Martin (Racing Point) teams identified as potential options too.

With Vettel himself staying qu♚iet on the matter, Ricciardo hopes the German doesn’t take this as his moment to retire from the sport entirely.

"If I know him ඣwell enough, I believe he's still hungry and competitive enough to want to continue,” Ricciardo told CNN before going on t🍌o joke: "Also, because he's still older than me. So it makes me not the oldest guy,"

"I like Seb. Obviously, I had him as a teammate, but as a competi🌳tor he brings somethin🍬g to our sport.

"He's one of the very few if not the only one that isn't active on social media, and he's one of the mosꦓt successful people ever in our sport, yet he's one of the most private. And even that in itself brings a lot of mystery behindꦍ him."