Young West Australian Daniel Ricciardo may have been somewhat disappointed after crashing out on the first lap of the Macau F3 Grand Prix two weeks ago but has made amends in the finest possible way by topping the Formula 1 test at Jerez earlier this week. Daniel, who won the British Formula 3 championship this year for Red Bull/Carlin Motorsports stepped up into the Red Bull squad for the “Rookie” test and blew away some of the best young drivers around, including Nico Hulkenberg, who will be driving for Williams this coming season.

Daniel Ricciardo topped the rookie test in the Red Bull at Jerez

  Ricciardo said he was very proud of his performance on the final day of testing at Jerez, where the Australian set the fastest lap of the week in a time of 1m17.418s. It was not all plain sailing for the British F3 champion though, as his day's work was ended early when a large plume of smoke appeared from the back of his car and he stopped at the exit of the chicane, bringing the session to a halt.

   "It puts a big, proud smile on my face definitely," Ricciardo said. "It was a great day and we were able to get some real pace out of the car and myself. I was becoming much more confident after a couple of days in the car and I think the team were quite satisfied. I think they got some good data for next year. I think I adapted quite well and understood that there are a lot of people and that they've all got their purpose within the team. We all got along and had a good three days together."

   Gary Paffett was the next best for McLaren 1’18.718 followed by Paul di Resta in the Force India (1’18.736) and Mike Conway for Brawn (1’19.096). Surprisingly Andy Soucek, who won this years Formula 2 championship, outpaced Nico Hulkenberg as they shared the Williams-Toyota.

 Young Kiwi, Brendan Hartley finished the test with the 17th fastest time in the Toro Rosso with a best lap of 1’21.325.

  Sam Snape 

06-12-09   

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