MOTORSPORT: Red Bull gives Ricciardo his wings

And the 24-year-old from Perth has declared he is “ready” to be part of the world champion team of the past three years – and on the way to a four-peat this season.

Webber, winner of nine grands prix with Red Bull Racing and twice third in the world championship with RBR, will go off to sports car racing with Porsche next year.

Red Bull’s announcement regarding Ricciardo had been anticipated at the Belgian GP almost two weeks ago but was postponed, supposedly until this weekend’s Italian GP.

But it came mid-evening in Europe last night.

Ricciardo went to Europe as a teenager without ever racing in any Australian national championships.

He was spotted by Red Bull while based in Italy, competing in Formula Renault in 2007.

Ricciardo has driven 42 GPs, initially for Spain’s now-defunct Hispania Racing Team, at Red Bull’s instigation, and since the start of last season with Red Bull-owned Scuderia Toro Rosso, formerly Minardi.

While he has consistently outqualified teammate Jean-Eric Vergne at Toro Rosso the Frenchman has scored more world championship points last year and so far this season.

However, Red Bull chiefs have been clearly convinced that Ricciardo is the more prepared for the world’s top team in which the West Australian could start winning GPs as early as next season.

That will depend on the competitiveness of the team’s next model, the RB10, under new rules that will introduce 1.6-litre turbocharged engines.

RBR will continue to use Renault motors in its cars designed by F1’s most brilliant and successful technical chief, Adrian Newey.

Ricciardo had every reason to be delighted when Red Bull confirmed his promotion last night after it had looked at hiring 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen from Lotus and perhaps others, even two other world champions – Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso and McLaren’s Jenson Button.

“I feel very, very good at the moment and obviously there's a lot of excitement running through me,”  Ricciardo said.

“Since joining F1 in 2011 I hoped this would happen and, over time, the belief in me has grown. I had some good results and Red Bull has decided that this is it, so it's a good time.

“Next year I’ll be with a championship-winning team, arguably the best team, and will be expected to deliver. I’m ready for that. I'm not here to run around in tenth place, I want to get the best results for myself and the team.

“I would like to thank the team for giving me the opportunity to show what I can do. I know the team quite well already since being its reserve driver in 2010, which should make the transition easier.

“It will be a great challenge to be up against Sebastian Vettel – I’m looking forward to that. My aim is to finish this season as strong as possible, for myself and Scuderia Toro Rosso.

“Then, once the off-season is here, I’ll be fully focused on next year and the next stage of my career.”

RBR team principal Christian Horner said it was “fantastic to confirm Daniel as the team’s race driver for 2014””.

“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,” Horner said.

“He joined the Red Bull junior team in 2008 and we’ve seen in his junior career in Formula Three and Renault World Series that he’s capable of winning races and championships.

“He’s stood out in each of these categories and we’ve followed his progress with great interest. He’s got all the attributes that are required to drive for our team: he’s got a great natural ability, he’s a good personality and a great guy to work with.

“Daniel 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.”

Technical guru Newey likened RBR’s promotion of Ricciardo to the elevation of Damon Hill at Williams almost 20 years ago.

“Since Mark announced his retirement, Christian and I have been looking carefully at the driver market, along with [Red Bull motorsport consultant] Helmut Marko and [Red Bull owner] Dietrich Mateschitz,” Newey said.

“We could have taken an experienced driver, somebody guaranteed to deliver to a relatively known level, or equally we could take on a much younger driver in the hope that they’ll develop to a very high level.

“We looked at the latter option and concluded that, of the younger drivers, Daniel is the most promising. From Red Bull’s point of view that also fits well because the driver that Christian and I feel is the most promising is part of the Red Bull young driver programme.

“The decision actually reminded me a little bit of a similar situation we had when I was at Williams. Nigel Mansell was leaving and we needed someone alongside Alain Prost. We could stick with Riccardo Patrese or take a punt on a young driver called Damon Hill, who was our test driver at the time.

“I think it’s good to bring young blood in and give promising drivers a chance.”

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