Official: Ricciardo Red Bull driver in 2014

For a few weeks, it had become clear that the seat of the second Red Bull RB10 of 2014 should fall into his hands, but it’s now official: Daniel Ricciardo is promoted and will become the teammate of the – for now – three-time world champion: Sebastian Vettel. The announcement was made on Austrian television, Servus TV (owned by the Red Bull group) in the early evening.

Daniel Ricciardo, 24, will replace his compatriot, Mark Webber, becoming the second driver from the Red Bull program to be appointed in the main team, after two seasons with Toro Rosso and half a season driving a car for the now-defunct HRT team. Kimi Räikkönen was considered, in the middle of the summer, to take on the challenge at Red Bull, but negotiations failed, pushing Ricciardo to the forefront, at the expense of his teammate, Jean-Eric Vergne, who was deemed less experienced by Christian Horner, among others.

“I feel very, very good, and obviously, there’s a lot of excitement within me,” declared the Australian. “Since I’ve been in F1 in 2011, I’ve hoped this would happen and over time, this feeling has grown. I’ve had some good results and Red Bull decided it was good, so it’s a good moment.” He nevertheless knows that expectations due to his new status will be strong: “Next year, I’ll be in a world champion team, probably the best one, and people will expect performances from me. I’m ready for that. I’m not here to play for tenth place; I want to achieve the best results for myself and the team.”

He is notably preparing for the biggest challenge of his young career: teaming up with the ogre of the top discipline for several seasons. It will be a great challenge to compete against Vettel, I’m looking forward to it. My goal is to finish the season as strong as possible, for myself and Scuderia Toro Rosso. After that, once the off-season arrives, I will be fully focused on next year and the next step of my career.

On the side of Christian Horner, satisfaction prevails: « It’s fantastic to confirm Daniel as a race driver for 2014. He is a very talented young driver, he is involved, he has a great attitude, and ultimately, it was a logical choice to take Daniel. He joined the Red Bull Junior Team in 2008, and we saw in his career in Formula 3 and in the World Series by Renault that he was capable of winning races and championships. » According to him, Ricciardo possesses the necessary qualities for driving the future RB10 and integrating into the team: « He has all the required attributes to drive for us: he has great natural talent, a good personality, and he’s a great guy to work with. »

Despite everything, the pressure will be significant and Horner does not fail to remind him: « Daniel knows what the team’s expectations are for him. He will learn quickly, and we are starting his development with the medium and long term in mind. The seat within the team is a tremendous opportunity and I think he will be a big star in the future. »

The duration of the contract binding Daniel Ricciardo to the Red Bull team has not been specified.

More information to follow…