Ricciardo aims for Toro Rosso in 2012

After replacing Narain Karthikeyan for the last ten races of the season at HRT, Daniel Ricciardo is aiming for a logical career progression towards the Toro Rosso team, the little sister of Red Bull, of which he is part of the young driver program: «I would like to be in the seat of a Toro Rosso, and I think it would be a realistic step and a good move forward for my career, but there are quite a few contenders, and I’m really not sure what’s going to happen.»

However, the Australian does not close all doors, except perhaps becoming a test driver again: «If I’m not at Toro Rosso then I guess the next goal is to at least have a place on the grid to stay in and give myself another chance in a year.»

The example of Sebastian Vettel’s rise is certainly a positive point for Ricciardo: «”It’s certainly a realistic goal and I think that’s what Dr. Marko wants for us. Obviously, [Sebastian] Vettel has been an excellent example for all of us, not just for the guys at Red Bull, but for the entire young driver program. He followed the path perfectly and I think Dr. Marko is looking for another one among us to succeed in achieving the same path.”»

But the spots are limited within the Italian team, where Sébastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari have raised their game level during the last races: It’s going to be tough because the guys have delivered solid results over the last races, so Dr. Marko will have an even more difficult task (to make a choice. It’s up to him to decide what he’s going to do with us and I will continue to push to achieve my goal.

Daniel Ricciardo possesses great confidence in himself and his talent to achieve his goal: I hope my results will speak for themselves; if not for next year, we’ll see the following year. Ultimately, I believe that one day I’ll have the chance to do what Vettel does and win the world championship with Red Bull. That’s everyone’s real objective.