Hispania Racing have this evening confirmed that Daniel Ricciardo will race for the Spanish team at the British Grand Prix next weekend after the Spanish team signed a ‘collaboration deal’ today with Red Bull.
As part of the deal, Australian rookie Ricciardo will join Hispania as one of its official drivers, alongside Vitantonio Liuzzi and Narain Karthikeyan, the man he will replace at Silverstone.
Up until now, Ricciardo has been test and reserve driver for Toro Rosso, the Red Bull junior team, and as competed for them in every first practice session so far this season.
Ricciardo, who turns 22 tomorrow (1st July), is understandably excited about his racing debut at the British Grand Prix: “It's a dream come true for me – for the first time on an F1 starting grid!” said the young driver from Perth, Australia. “I had to pinch myself a couple of times to be sure that it's real. I'm excited and can hardly wait to drive at Silverstone. It's a new challenge, a new experience, a new team, but I'm ready and will give of my best in any event”.
José Ramón Carabante, Chairman of Hispania Racing, said that the deal with Red Bull emphasises how far the Spanish team has come since the beginning of last season:
“This agreement is a reward for all the hard work Hispania Racing has shown since we started in Formula 1 last year,” he said. “We're proud that the Formula 1 World Champion team has trusted us in their effort of developing their drivers. Let's hope that this is just the start of a fruitful relationship”.
Hispania Team Principal Colin Kolles also welcomed Ricciardo to the team: “I'm happy to welcome Daniel to the team; I'm glad the Team managed to conclude this deal together with Dr. Helmut Marko who deserves my personal respect”.
