Daniel Ricciardo was announced on Monday (2nd September) as Red Bull’s new driver next season, replacing fellow Australian Mark Webber who is retiring from Formula 1.
Daniel Ricciardo, 2014 driver“I feel very, very good. A lot of excitement is running through me right now. It is great news, something I have worked for and to hear the news I wanted is great. Next step in my career now.”
Daniel Ricciardo, 2014 driver“The last few weeks there has been lots of speculation and a lot around the race track. Even at my little media sessions, instead of five people there have been twenty or so, so it has quadrupled. More questions have been asked but I haven’t been able to answer anything so it has been normal stuff for me. A lot of people have asked the question but I didn’t know any better at the time so I just shut it off and answered different questions. You get used to the people around you and it is nothing strange.”
Christian Horner, Red Bull Team Principal“It is great to confirm Daniel as the driver to replace Mark Webber. He is a product of the Red Bull junior programme. He has really deserved this graduation on merit. He is a talented youngster, he is committed and he has got a great attitude. In the end, it was a very logical choice for us to nominate him as a second driver.”
Christian Horner, Red Bull Team Principal“Why didn’t we announce the decision earlier? Well, for one, Daniel is under a long term contract to Red Bull so he wasn’t going anywhere. We just wanted to take the time to look at what options are available. It is important for us to put the right pairing together and there were some options that we hadn’t previously considered. We have come to the conclusion collectively that Daniel is absolutely the right man for the job.”
