LONDON (Reuters) - Red Bull's Max Verstappen reckons Spaniard Carlos Sainz is more likely to replace Sebastian Vettel at Ferrari (NYSE:RACE) next year than Daniel Ricciardo.
Ferrari announced on Tuesday that four times world champion Vettel would be leaving them at the end of the season.
McLaren's Sainz and Renault (PA:RENA)'s Ricciardo, considered the leading contenders for one of the most coveted seats in the sport, were team mates of Dutch 22-year-old Verstappen at Toro Rosso (now AlphaTauri) and Red Bull respectively.
"The speculation was going on a bit, is he going to continue with Ferrari or not? Well today it’s out. He’s not," Verstappen said in an Instagram Q&A with former racer David Coulthard for team sponsor Puma.
"I guess also very soon we’ll find out who the replacement is going to be. It’s definitely not me, I can tell you. I’m at Red Bull," added Verstappen, whose contract runs to the end of 2023.
Asked whether he thought Vettel's replacement would be the Italian or Spanish-sounding name, Verstappen replied: "I think it’s not going to be the Italian-sounding name... it's just a guess, we'll have to wait and see."
Both Ricciardo and Sainz, already on his third team at the age of 25 after a stint at Renault before McLaren, are both out of contract at the end of the season.