Unofficial reports coming out of Australia claim that Daniel Ricciardo is to replace Narain Karthikeyan in the second Hispania at Silverstone next week.

With nothing official from Toro Rosso, Hispania or even Ricciardo himself, and with the distinct feeling that making your F1 debut in a Hispania would be akin to turkeys eagerly anticipating Thanksgiving or Christmas, the fact is that reports coming out of Australia suggest that the deal is on.

In his Friday outings thus far this season the 22-year-old has been mighty impressive, not only doing the business on track but also effectively giving regular drivers Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari a kick up the backside… witness their improving form since the Faenza team admitted the Australian was almost certain to be in one of its cars next season.

While Karthikeyan has struggled this year, having been regularly trounced by teammate Tonio Liuzzi, it would have been thought prudent to keep him in the second car what with the maiden Indian Grand Prix just a couple of months away.

With the 2009 British F3 Championship under his belt and having finished runner-up in the 2010 Formula Renault 3.5 Series, Ricciardo is very much considered a star of the future. Indeed, in a recent poll undertaken by ESPN, Frank Williams predicted that the Australian youngster will be F1's next 'big thing'.