Billed as the next superstar of the Motorsports, Ricciardo, Twenty five, started racing very early in life.His early interest in motorsports came from his Dad who took part in races as an amateur. Ricciardo watched him as he competed and eventually developed a love for cars of his own.'I grew up watching him at the track and that was just in me already. He loved racing ..but he never tried to, you know, push his dream into me, if that makes sense.'
He started out with go-karting, becoming a member of the Tiger Kart Club in Australia at the tender age of Nine. It was there he showed his potential as he entered numerous races winning competitions and gaining confidence in the process. He recalls his interest and flair for racing as 'All the kids were either playing footy or soccer but I just loved the whole racing thing. For me, it was freedom.'.
Ricciardo continued racing, eventually winning a scholarship in 2006 into the Formula BMW Asian
championship.There he won two races, and finished in third place with 231 points in the year end driver's Championship standings.
His progression in motorsports saw him move to Formula Renault with RP Motorsports in 2007, where he competed in the Italian and European Championship. It was at this stage the young driver won his first European title, winning the Western European Cup. He also finished second in the Eurocup. He moved on to Formula Three where he won the British Formula 3 Championship in 2009.
Ricciardo's first taste of Formula One racing came in 2009, when he participated as a test driver for Red Bull Racing, at the young drivers test at Circuito de Jerez. He continued test racing for Red Bull and its sister team Scuderia Toro Rosso and in November 2011 he was confirmed as the single driver to represent Red Bull Racing at the 2010 end of season young drivers test.
He started racing competitively in the Formula One World Championship in 2011with HRT Formula 1.There he finished the season in 28th place, racing 11 times and not getting a single point at the end of the season. He moved on to Scuderia Torro Rosso in 2012, competing with the team in the 2012 and 2013 Formula One seasons and finishing both season's in 18th and 14th place respectively.
His big break came in the 2014 season, when it was announced by Infiniti Red Bull, that he would take Mark Webber' place in the team and partner with Sebastein Vettel. This move by Red Bull yielded great dividends as he turned out to be a revelation finishing the season in 3rd place with 238 points, with wins at the Canadian Grand Prix, Hungarian Grand Prix and Belgian Grand Prix events.
Cool, charming, down to earth with and ever present smile on his face, he admits that his success last season came as a surprise.'I think it's exceeded not only my own but everyone else's expectations.I've had an awesome year .'
With the 2015 Formula One season kicking off with the Australian Gran Prix in Melbourne on the 15th of March, all eyes will be on Daniel Ricciardo who will look to go two places better and win the 2015 edition of the Formula One World Championship. But I bet he is not at all fazed by the challenge and expectation that comes with success. He says.. 'Life's good, life's good. It's awesome. I'm living my dream, really, and, you know, I'm doing well at it, so can't complain.
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