![\"Dr-Helmut-Marko\"](\"https:\/\/www.racinginfocus.com\/rif\/gallery\/f1-2013-rif-images\/f1-2013-persons\/Dr-Helmut-Marko.jpg\")
Austrian media reports said the 24-year-old has inked a minimally three-year deal.<\/p>\nF1’s ‘silliest season’ has taken a big step towards sanity, as Red Bull finally confirmed Daniel Ricciardo will replace Australian countryman Mark Webber in 2014 and beyond.<\/p>\n
Austrian media reports said the 24-year-old has inked a minimally three-year deal.<\/p>\n
“Continuity is important to us,” Dr Helmut Marko said on Red Bull-owned Austrian television Servus TV.<\/p>\n
“The contract is therefore for at least three years, as Daniel was not only the youngest candidate but also the one with the most potential.”<\/p>\n
Champions Kimi Raikkonen and perhaps even Fernando Alonso were reportedly considered for the plum seat alongside Sebastian Vettel, but team boss Christian Horner said the Red Bull-groomed Ricciardo was ultimately a “very logical choice”.<\/p>\n
“We could have taken an experienced driver, somebody guaranteed to deliver to a relatively known level,” admitted designer Adrian Newey.<\/p>\n
“Or equally we could take on a much younger driver in the hope that they’ll develop to a very high level.”<\/p>\n
He said the decision was similar to Williams’ deliberations at the end of 1992, when the new champion Nigel Mansell departed.<\/p>\n
“We could stick with Riccardo Patrese or take a punt on a young driver called Damon Hill who was our test driver at the time,” said Newey.<\/p>\n
“I think it’s good to bring young blood in and give promising drivers a chance.”<\/p>\n
On the other hand, Red Bull’s decision might be interpreted as a nod to German Vettel’s increasing influence at the team, as he looks set to win a fourth consecutive world championship this year.<\/p>\n
Indeed, the German newspapers Welt and Bild both described Ricciardo as a “nobody”.<\/p>\n
And Marko admitted Vettel had a say.<\/p>\n
“It is a team decision, so of course Sebastian was asked for his opinion,” he said.<\/p>\n
The timing of Tuesday’s announcement was also odd, according to the Telegraph correspondent Tom Cary.<\/p>\n
He said it came “in the middle of football’s transfer deadline frenzy”, and also with many of the sport’s top journalists at the London premiere of the new F1 film Rush.<\/p>\n
“Perhaps Red Bull did not want the publicity,” said Cary.\u00a0 “The Austrian-backed team have been criticised in some quarters for being too conservative with their choice.”<\/p>\n
Red Bull, however, insist Ricciardo is not a ‘number 2’, and that he will enjoy equal status and machinery alongside Vettel.<\/p>\n
But Dr Helmut Marko also acknowledged that, coming to the champion team from Red Bull’s midfield runner Toro Rosso, Ricciardo will take some time – “three to five races” – to steadily adjust and get up to full speed.<\/p>\n
For Ricciardo, the news finally becoming official was a big relief.<\/p>\n
“It was a bit of a wait,” he grinned on Servus TV.<\/p>\n
“I’ve made sure I had my phone with me all the time!”<\/p>\n
Marko insisted Ricciardo’s current teammate, the similarly Red Bull-groomed Jean-Eric Vergne, had also been in the running.<\/p>\n
“When they knew Mark Webber was leaving us, both of them upped their game,” he said.<\/p>\n
“Unfortunately, there can only be one.\u00a0 But Jean-Eric will have another opportunity next year at Toro Rosso.\u00a0 He is also slightly younger — he just needs to have patience,” added Marko.<\/p>\n
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