17/08/2022
NEWS STORY
Daniel Riccardo was among the first to give the thumbs up to the decision to include the F2 and F3 championships in the 2023 Australian Grand Prix schedule.
The move sees the two series, which form part of the official feeder chain to F1, head down under for the first time, and Ricciardo, the 2009 British F3 champion, believes it is great news for his countrymen.
"I love it," he tells Speedcafe.com. "I love the fact that F2 and F3 are getting so much exposure now, and I know F1 will post it on their channels as well.
"It's a pretty exciting time to be a young driver," he continues. "And I also love that they're getting out of Europe and tagging on to some of our international races, that's pretty special.
"You know, it absolutely prepares them better for it, it prepares them a little bit more to find out what's potentially coming in Formula 1.
"When I got into F1, it was... you just couldn't really prepare," he admits. "Even though I was reserve driver, so I got an idea of how it works, but you just can't prepare for the schedule and attention, all that.
"So I think already kind of shining a bit of a spotlight on these categories, it can prepare them. And I know, being an Aussie, racing in Albert Park, that's pretty awesome, so I was very happy to hear that news."
Ricciardo headed to Europe in 2006, and just two years later won the Formula Renault 2.0 WEC, claiming the British F3 crown the year after, having won 8 races from 15 starts.
In December of that year (2009), the Australian made his F1 debut, driving the Red Bull at the young driver test in Jerez, ending the test a second quicker than his nearest rival.
Runner-up in the 2010 Formula Renault 3.5 series, though he had been touted as a potential replacement for Brendon Hartley as test and reserve driver for the Red Bull teams, Ricciardo actually ended up sharing the role with the Kiwi.
Named as Toro Rosso's reserve driver for 2011, halfway through the year Red Bull came to an agreement with HRT F1 that saw Ricciardo replace Narain Karthikeyan for the remainder of the season. In December that year he was named as teammate to Jean-Eric Verge at Toro Rosso for 2012.