Red Bull Racing has confirmed that Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo will drive for the team starting with the 2014 Formula One season. Ricciardo will be replacing fellow countryman Mark Webber, who will be joining Porsche in the World Endurance Championship at the end of this year’s campaign.
Despite rumors claiming that former world champion Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus) will join the Milton Keynes-headquartered team in 2014, Red Bull announced that Daniel Ricciardo will be the one to ride along defending world champion Sebastian Vettel.
The 24-year-old Australian arrive in Formula One in 2011, spending half a year with Hispania Racing (HRT) and two seasons with Scuderia Toro Rosso. Ricciardo has 42 Formula One starts and 22 career points to his name, but has yet to win a race or score a podium.
"Obviously there's a lot of excitement running through me. Since joining Formula One in 2011, I hoped this would happen and over time the belief in me has grown,” Ricciardo said.
“He’s a very talented youngster, he’s committed, he’s got a great attitude and in the end it was a very logical choice for us to choose Daniel. He knows what the team expects from him; he’ll learn quickly and it’s very much a medium to long term view that we’re taking in developing him. The seat within the team is a wonderful opportunity and I think he’s going to be a big star of the future,” team principal Christian Horner added.
Ask Ciprian about cars and he'll reveal an obsession with classics and an annoyance with modern design cues. Read his articles and you'll understand why his ideal SUV is the 1969 Chevrolet K5 Blazer. Full profile
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