SILVERSTONE (United Kingdom): Australia’s Daniel Ricciardo suffered a disappointing start to his bid to pip Kimi Raikkonen and grab a prized seat with world champions Red Bull next season.
Ricciardo, 24, is believed to be in a two-man race with former world champion Raikkonen to replace Mark Webber as Sebastian Vettel’s team-mate in 2014.
But after clocking the day’s fastest testing time of the day behind the wheel of his own Toro Rosso, he then came off the track in the Red Bull in the afternoon.
“It was good today but very busy, so it’s still a bit of a blur,” said Ricciardo, who was third fastest on the day in the Red Bull.
“I did quite a few laps this afternoon, so I’m happy with that. I had a small off but otherwise it was a trouble-free day.
“The off was my mistake, I just lost the rear on the entry.
“It was a good opportunity to get behind the wheel and experience two different beasts today.”
The Australian said he would not get caught up in the race for the Red Bull seat in 2014.
“In terms of the inevitable speculation, I think this test is something for Red Bull to look at, but there’s still the rest of the season with Toro Rosso to do, so I’ll switch my focus back to that and won’t get too caught up in any rumours.” — AFP
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