Ricciardo has Friday on his mind

Young Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo (left) will take another step towards an F1 career with Scuderia Toro Rosso in 2011. The 21-year-old will drive in the Friday practice sessions at all 20 races next year.

Jaime Alguersuari and Sebastien Buemi (right) have already been confirmed as Toro Rosso’s drivers for next season and they will miss alternating Friday sessions in 2011 to make way for Ricciardo’s role.

Ricciardo will also continue to race in the Formula Renault 3.5 series, but says F1 is his long-term goal, “I am really excited at the prospect of driving for Scuderia Toro Rosso in the practice sessions next year, so I have to say thanks to Red Bull for this great opportunity.

“My main priority for 2011 is to win the Formula Renault 3.5 championship, but my ultimate aim is to be a full-time Formula One driver and this new role has to be the best step towards achieving that ambition.”

The news follows this week’s earlier rumour suggesting Buemi could make way for Ricciardo in a full-time capacity. While that doesn’t look like happening just yet, Toro Rosso boss Franz Tost has left the door open for the young West Australian, “When our team was created, its stated aim was to bring on young drivers from the Red Bull Junior Team, so Daniel’s appointment as our third driver is an obvious one.

“Although Daniel has done some F1 testing already, running on Fridays at the grands prix will give him a valuable insight into the additional pressures of doing it for real during a race weekend. I am also sure that having a hungry youngster on the books will keep our current driver pairing nice and sharp!”

[Source: Scuderia Toro Rosso | Pic: STR/Getty Images]