Ricciardo, third Red Bull driver?

Daniel Ricciardo, in Jerez since Tuesday, counts on the winter tests of Formula 1 to score points in the minds of its leaders. The young Australian, protected by Red Bull Junior Team, is currently following a trajectory which could lead him to F1 in the medium or short term, and perhaps first as the third driver of the Austrian team.

The Formula champion Renault 2.0 WEC (2008) and Formula 3 UK (2009), very fast at Jerez during the tests reserved for young drivers, which end this Thursday, shows himself to be one of the best hopes of the Red Bull Junior Team. The times he recorded in Jerez do not say otherwise. The Australian knows that these tests can be decisive, hence his satisfaction at being able to tame the car RedBull.

« When the F1 test was confirmed to me, my face showed a big smile “, he tells GPupdate.net. “ It?s a relief to finally be able to drive an F1 car. It was a very special feeling when I left the pit lane behind the wheel of the Red Bull F1 car. I was both nervous and excited but I tried to enjoy it. »

Even if the main goal of the teams is to work on the tuning of the single-seaters for the 2010 season, the team managers do not forget to look at the behavior of the young drivers, as well as their times. “ We need to see how the Jerez tests go, attests Ricciardo. If these tests go well, the role of third driver (within Red Bull Racing) could be in play. It would be great to get something like that for next year. »

Daniel Ricciardo, entered in Formula Renault 3.5 Series for the next season, will have the opportunity to team up with Tech 1 Racing with Brendon Hartley, driver of the Red Bull Junior Team and third Red Bull Racing driver during the first half of 2009. The opportunity for the Australian to assert himself as the next Formula 1 driver within the brand's young driver program energy drink.