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LONDON, England - Young Australian rookie Daniel Ricciardo has set for himself the target of beating his Hispania team mate Tonio Liuzzi and both Virgin drivers before the end of 2011.
The 22-year-old new boy had his 2011 debut in mid-season July during the British GP at Silverstone and is trying to fast-track his way to the top and to earn a race seat with Red Bull.
18th IN HUNGARY
Many believe he has a good chance of succeeding 34-year-old compatriot Mark Webber at Red Bull but for now he is content to learn and improve after breaking into F1 as replacement for Indian veteran Narain Karthikeyan.
Ricciardo finished 18th in the recent Hungarian GP and 19th in two previous two outings - a clear sign he is moving in the right direction. He said he needed to digest the lessons of his first few races and to learn quickly to make faster progress.
"The target is to continue learning. I think that will come with time in the car," he said. "If I could manage to sneak out a personal best result or edge out Tonio and the Virgins in a few races that would be a strong result.
"I have to aim high because it is only going to help me for the future. I think that for the last few races of the year I can really start to push."
He felt it would not be easy for him to outperform Liuzzi, a wily campaigner, and even more difficult to overhaul the Italian's season-best result of 13th at the Canadian GP.
PUSHING PERSONAL BEST
"I think the result in Canada was really good," he said. "Tonio has proved to be a very capable driver -I think he will be tough to beat. At Silverstone I was quite off his pace. I knew it would take a bit of time - you always want a bit more - but it was very clear to me that I have a strong team mate.
"It is going to take my best efforts to really try to get in front of him and to push for a personal best result for the team.
"I don't think it is going to come through luck; it's just going to be hard work. I really have to soak in as much information as I can to try to become the driver I want to be."
The 22-year-old new boy had his 2011 debut in mid-season July during the British GP at Silverstone and is trying to fast-track his way to the top and to earn a race seat with Red Bull.
18th IN HUNGARY
Many believe he has a good chance of succeeding 34-year-old compatriot Mark Webber at Red Bull but for now he is content to learn and improve after breaking into F1 as replacement for Indian veteran Narain Karthikeyan.
Ricciardo finished 18th in the recent Hungarian GP and 19th in two previous two outings - a clear sign he is moving in the right direction. He said he needed to digest the lessons of his first few races and to learn quickly to make faster progress.
"The target is to continue learning. I think that will come with time in the car," he said. "If I could manage to sneak out a personal best result or edge out Tonio and the Virgins in a few races that would be a strong result.
"I have to aim high because it is only going to help me for the future. I think that for the last few races of the year I can really start to push."
He felt it would not be easy for him to outperform Liuzzi, a wily campaigner, and even more difficult to overhaul the Italian's season-best result of 13th at the Canadian GP.
PUSHING PERSONAL BEST
"I think the result in Canada was really good," he said. "Tonio has proved to be a very capable driver -I think he will be tough to beat. At Silverstone I was quite off his pace. I knew it would take a bit of time - you always want a bit more - but it was very clear to me that I have a strong team mate.
"It is going to take my best efforts to really try to get in front of him and to push for a personal best result for the team.
"I don't think it is going to come through luck; it's just going to be hard work. I really have to soak in as much information as I can to try to become the driver I want to be."