MOTORSPORT: Aussie Ricciardo joins Webber in F1 team

Perth racer got Red Bull reserve 'gong' on Australia Day
Twenty-year-old rising Australian racing star Daniel Ricciardo has been confirmed as this year's reserve driver with Red Bull Racing, the Formula One team with which fellow Aussie Mark Webber became a grand prix winner last season.

Ricciardo, from Perth, who did a stunning F1 test at Jerez in Spain less than two months ago, will attend GPs with Red Bull -- but is unlikely to get a start unless Webber or German wonderboy Sebastian Vettel are unable to take their place in the cockpit of Red Bull's new RB6 cars due to be unveiled soon.

The F1 season is now little more than six weeks away -- starting in Bahrain on March 14, with the second round in Melbourne on March 28.

Red Bull won the last three F1 GPs last year -- and six for the season, four by Vettel and two (in Germany and Brazil) by Webber.

Vettel finished second in the world championship, Webber fourth, and Red Bull was runner-up to BrawnGP (now Mercedes, and with Michael Schumacher in one of its cars) in the constructors' world title.

Ricciardo has won 21 races in junior categories in Europe the past two years.

F1 teams tested about 20 F1 hopefuls for three days at Jerez in early December and on the final day Ricciardo lapped a mammoth 1.3 seconds faster than the next quickest driver.

Ricciardo said of being named overnight as Red Bull's reserve driver: "It's very exciting -- I got an email I had been hoping for since the test in December.

"But I wasn't sure whether it would come at all. So, a big relief -- but also very satisfying. This will be a very good introduction to F1.

"Even though I won't be driving the car, just to sit in on the briefings and do what the drivers do on a weekend is a good way to start learning.

"It's all exciting and I'll be busy, even though I won't be driving in F1 races."

Apart from the Red Bull reserve role, Ricciardo will race this year in Europe this year in the World Series by Renault.

Also known as Formula Renault 3.5, that is a series through which Spanish dual world champion Fernando Alonso and Polish F1 driver and GP winner Robert Kubica emerged.

Ricciardo's teammate in French outfit Tech 1 in that series will be New Zealander Brendon Hartley (pictured, centre, with Webber and Vettel), another 20-year-old who has been named the F1 reserve driver Red Bull Racing's sister team Scuderia Toro Rosso, the former Minardi.

Ricciardo began racing karts in and around Perth while in short pants.

Instead of the traditional path through the Australian Formula Ford Championship he commuted from Perth to race in Asia's Formula BMW Championship, in which he was third in 2006

He then based himself in Italy and started racing in the junior Formula Renault.

Red Bull's talent spotters noticed him and, after a trial in Portugal, installed him in the energy drink company's junior driver development squad.

In 2008 he won he was the Formula Renault West European champion and was a narrow runner-up in that category's Euroseries -- with 14 race wins for the year.

Last season he won the British Formula Three Championship, scoring seven race victories.

That series has produced more F1 graduates than any other single-seater championship worldwide.

The list of British F3 champions who went on to be GP greats includes Ayrton Senna, Jackie Stewart, Emerson Fittipaldi, Nelson Piquet, Mika Hakkinen and Rubens Barrichello.

Another product of the British F3 series and Red Bull junior scheme, Spaniard Jaime Alguersuari, last year became the youngest driver in F1 history at just 19 when he made his debut with Toro Rosso.

Alguersuari has been confirmed as a Toro Rosso GP driver again this year.

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