page_title: Daniel Ricciardo
section_title: Formula One
hierarchical_section_title: Daniel Ricciardo / Career / Formula One
caption_attribution_description: English: Formula One 2011 Rd.2 Malaysian GP: Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso) during the first practice session on Friday.
context_page_description: Daniel Joseph Ricciardo is an Italian-Australian racing driver who is currently competing in Formula One, under the Australian flag, for Renault. He made his debut at the 2011 British Grand Prix with the HRT team as part of a deal with Red Bull Racing, for whom he was test driving under its sister team Scuderia Toro Rosso. Ricciardo’s driver number is 3.
  Ricciardo joined Toro Rosso in 2012 full time after the team changed its driver lineup and drove a Ferrari -powered car for them in 2012 and 2013. In 2014, Ricciardo was promoted to Red Bull as a replacement for the retired Mark Webber alongside multiple time world champion Sebastian Vettel. In his first season with Red Bull under Renault power, Ricciardo finished third in the championship with his first three Formula One wins, in Canada, Hungary, and Belgium.
  After two years without victory, Ricciardo returned to the top of the podium at the 2016 Malaysian Grand Prix, eventually sealing third in the championship for the second time in three years at the 2016 Mexican Grand Prix. He has since added victories at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in 2017 and the Chinese and Monaco Grands Prix in 2018.
context_section_description: Ricciardo made his track debut at the wheel of a Formula One car, when he tested for Red Bull Racing at the young drivers test at Circuito de Jerez over three days, from 1–3 December 2009. On the final day of testing he clocked the fastest time of the test by over a second. This placed him as the only driver to go into the 1:17 bracket. Red Bull Racing's team manager Christian Horner suggested that Ricciardo may replace his 2010 World Series teammate Hartley as the team's test and reserve driver. As it turned out, Ricciardo and Hartley were to share test and reserve duties for both Red Bull, and sister team Scuderia Toro Rosso until the latter was removed from the Red Bull Junior team.
  On 11 November 2010, Ricciardo was confirmed as the single driver to represent Red Bull Racing at the end-of-season young drivers test at the Yas Marina Circuit, on 16–17 November. At the announcement, he commented, "I can't wait to get another crack at driving Red Bull Racing's amazing Formula One car." Ricciardo continued to show his one-lap prowess and dominated the event, with his fastest lap being 1.3 seconds faster than 2010 World Champion Sebastian Vettel's qualifying lap the Saturday before.
  Days after completing this session Ricciardo was confirmed as Toro Rosso's test and reserve driver for the 2011 season, and would take part in the first free practice session of each race weekend. Franz Tost, Toro Rosso team principal stated that "having a hungry youngster on the books will keep our current driver pairing nice and sharp", referring to then Toro Rosso drivers Jaime Alguersuari and Sébastien Buemi. Ricciardo would also make an appearance in pre-season testing for the 2011 Formula One season, driving for Scuderia Toro Rosso.
  At the 2011 Australian Grand Prix, Ricciardo was placed 16th on the timesheets after opening practice, just one-tenth slower than his experienced Toro Rosso teammate Sebastian Buemi. Ricciardo managed to later finish eighth in practice for the wet Turkish Grand Prix Friday practice one session, a place ahead of competitor Buemi.
caption: Ricciardo as Scuderia Toro Rosso's third driver at the 2011 Malaysian Grand Prix.
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