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Fighting for a world championship is definitely a bold statement to make. But don't dismiss this as overzealous overconfidence. In Ricciardo's belly burns the determination to succeed and, in Formula One, raw determination is as valuable as diamonds. Potential to be Australia's next Formula One superstar? You read it here first. Disco Dan is about to rock F1.
Story and interview by DYLAN CAMPBELL.
Ricciardo's next F1 race is the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai this weekend, live on One HD from 4.30pm, Sunday.
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But where does Ricciardo see himself in five years' time?
"I'd love to be fighting for a world championship, definitely," he says.
"I grew up watching Formula One and I just loved it. I just looked up to these people and the sport, and you see so many heroes come through. To picture yourself one day doing what they're doing, and then actually doing it, that sort of says it all. Dreams are usually things that don't come into reality - they're meant to be a bit of a fantasy. But now that it is true, it's a pretty wild feeling. It's very cool. Everyone should have dreams or have something to aim for in life because I think if you get it and you realise it, it's a pretty amazing feeling." -
In the space of five years, Ricciardo has gone from digging holes for his dad's earthmoving business to having untapped access to the vast wisdom of F1 ace Mark Webber. Pretty impressive, really, but then again, Ricciardo can call himself a full-time F1 driver nowadays.
Having scored his 2012 promotion to Red Bull's junior team, Toro Rosso - the team where a young(er) Sebastian Vettel finessed his craft - Ricciardo will now put his head down and hope to climb another rung on the F1 ladder. If he impresses his Red Bull bosses at Toro Rosso, Ricciardo will be beamed up to Red Bull's all-conquering hero team alongside Vettel himself, perhaps in 2013, but probably 2014. It's a thought any hardcore Aussie F1 fan would find nerdishly thrilling. -
So we have another Aussie batting for the homeland in motorsport's major league. But Ricciardo has his feet on the ground and is aware that he is racing with his F1 L-plates on. But he has a small army of people helping him to be successful - including our own Mark Webber.
"When I first drove a Formula One car in Jerez (Spain), Mark got my number from one of the guys in the team and gave me a call the night before the test, just to wish me all the best," Ricciardo remembers. "He told me to enjoy it, to relax and not take on too much pressure from it. That's more the kind of help he's been giving me, a bit of advice and encouragement to keep my head screwed on... He's always told me that the phone's there if ever I have any questions, which is pretty cool." -
Ricciardo was so impressive in his debut F1 tests that he was promptly plonked in a race seat with F1 backmarkers Hispania Racing Team at the end of last year. Having disposed of his much more experienced teammate Tonio Liuzzi, Ricciardo's Red Bull minders thought he was so good, they sacked 2011 Toro Rosso drivers Jaime Alguersuari and Sebastien Buemi and installed Ricciardo and teammate Jean-Eric Vergne in their place for this year.
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The likeable Ricciardo speaks with a smile in his voice and has earned himself a reputation as one of the most grounded young drivers in F1, but he is also too modest - at the Estoril young talent test, Ricciardo smoked the other youngsters.
Under the broad corporate wing of Red Bull, Ricciardo began a rapid ascent up the racing ranks. He cleaned up in Formula Renault, then stepped up to the quicker Formula Three cars, winning the British Formula Three Championship in 2009. He was then promoted to the big and menacing Formula Renault 3.5 machines - and F1 test driver for Red Bull. -
"Waiting to see if I had made the team, that was one of the most anxious moments of my life," Ricciardo told TGA last November. "We did a two-day test in Estoril (Portugal), there were six of us shooting out to be in the junior team and I'm sure for all the kids there, it was our big break at maybe getting into F1 one day. This was a huge opportunity.
"I did a good test and I had the confidence that it was good enough to get through but you just never know what they're thinking and what they're after, if it's just lap time or if it's something else... There was quite a few things going on in my head so when [team boss] Dr Helmut Marko came up and shook my hand and told me the news, it was a huge, huge weight off my shoulders. That was a big one." -
Ricciardo quickly outgrew karts and so stepped up to dabble briefly in local Formula Ford open-wheelers. He struggled in an older car, but still managed to score a prized scholarship to race in Formula BMW Asia - think Formula Ford, but slightly more powerful and with wings and slicks. Ricciardo finished third in his rookie season and jetted to Europe to contest Formula Renault in Italy - another step-up in car speed. He caught the eye of Red Bull's talent spies who invited him to try-out for the energy drink company's driver young talent team.
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