Why Ricciardo may regret not joining Mercedes

When Nico Rosberg shockingly announced his

 retirement from Formula One five days after claiming the world title, there was a number of 

names suggested that would have been ideal replacements but realistically were highly unlikely

The most common one was Fernando Alonso who most want to see put multiple years of misery behind him, achieve a third world title and battle it out with the best drivers in the business.

The likelihood of him making the move, however, was near zero as Mercedes would have had to pay the price of gold, frankincense, myrrh and a lot more besides to buy the Spaniard out of his McLaren contract.

Under the same predicament were the two Red Bull drivers, Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo. Many would love to see the two most exciting drivers on the grid challenge Lewis Hamilton in the same car, but both are more tightly screwed down into their current contracts than the bolts on the Eiffel Tower.

The thing is, as a footballer can put in a transfer request when they wish to leave a club, would Ricciardo have been better off trying to force a move to Mercedes?

In the days before Christmas, the Australian confirmed he would be seeing out his current contract with Red Bull, which expires after 2018, and that he would not want to move to Mercedes as the atmosphere at Milton Keynes is more conducive to producing better results.

.But, after giving some thought, here’s why I think he may be missing out on a perfect opportunity