Daniel Ricciardo has confirmed that he will replace Narain Karthikeyan at Hispania after several reports emerged from Australian news sources today confirming the move.
It’s understood that Red Bull have been in talks with Hispania to give Ricciardo the chance to experience a Formula 1 race as early as next weekend’s British Grand Prix.
Rather than replace either Jaime Alguersuari or Sebastien Buemi mid-season at sister-team Toro Rosso, of which Ricciardo is third driver, Red Bull see an opportunity to put the Australian up against Vitantonio Liuzzi, a former Red Bull driver, to measure his competitivenes.
“It’s pretty, pretty exciting,” Ricciardo told the Herald Sun. “It’s awesome, just awesome.”
“To make the first one at Silverstone, it’s great. It’s a circuit I know well and it’s just up the road from my second home in Britain,” he added.
Whilst Ricciardo has all but confirmed the news, Toro Rosso and Hispania are yet to, though Hispania didn’t deny the link when contacted.
“Ricciardo is Toro Rosso’s third driver,” a spokesperson told The F1 Times. “If we have something to say, we’ll release an official statement.”
The 21-year-old has shown great pace during Friday practice sessions, of which he has taken part in at every race this season, replacing either Alguersuari or Buemi. Many believe it was just a matter of time until he replaced one of the aforementioned drivers at the Faenza based team, but with both upping their game recently, this move would ensure Ricciardo gains some experience before a full-time seat in 2012.
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