Australian race driver Daniel Ricciardo has done his future racing plans no harm by setting the fastest overall time in Formula 1’s young driver test at Jerez.
Driving the Red Bull Racing RB4, the West Australian recorded the fastest time of the week (1m17.418s) after 77 laps of the Spanish circuit.
“These last three days have been an incredible experience for me,” said Daniel.
“I would like to thank Red Bull for giving me this great opportunity, which has made me even more determined to make it into F1 one day. I know it was just a test, but seeing my name on the top of today’s timesheet was really something special.”
The only issue for the British F3 Champion was when a plume of smoke billowed out of the back of the Red Bull car, bringing the session to a halt.
But that didn’t stop team boss Christian Horner from saying that Ricciardo is in contention to be the reserve driver for the Red Bull team next year.
Ricciardo will compete in the World Series by Renault category in 2010. Former champions of the class include Robert Kubica and Heikki Kovalienen.
Second fastest in the test was Britain’s Paul di Resta (Force India), ahead of Wednesday pace-setter Gary Paffett (McLaren), Mike Conway (Brawn), Nico Hulkenberg (Williams) and Bertrand Baguette (Sauber).
