Devadyuti Das, TNN | Sep 29, 2011, 01.19AM IST
HRT Formula One driver Daniel Ricciardo of Australia takes a drink during the Singapore Grand Prix at the Marina Bay street circuit. (Reuters Photo)
NEW DELHI: Red Bull-Racing are the runaway leaders in Formula One this season - driver Sebastian Vettel is 124 points ahead of rival Jenson Button and the team is a whopping 138 points in the lead. With five races still remaining this season, the driver's title is almost in their bag.
India will get its chance to get close to the champion's car with the Red Bull set to zoom on Rajpath on Saturday. The team's 22-year-old test driver Daniel Ricciardo from Australia will be in the Red Bull cockpit for the event, part of the buildup to the inaugural Airtel Indian Grand Prix on October 30.
TOI caught up with the rookie driver, currently in his first F1 season with the HRT. Excerpts:
Daniel you will be zooming on Delhi's streets, are you excited about the new experience?
I am really excited. I think it's going to be a great day. I think it will be pretty crazy in Delhi... I expect a lot of fans as it is not something they have seen before. I am sure we will have a good day and I hope it is not too hot!
You have been associated with Red Bull from 2009 now, how has it been so far?
It (the association) has been good - I had my first test in Jerez at the end of 2009 which was awesome. I was pretty privileged to get all three days when they could have split it between a few of us younger drivers. I also spent all of 2010 with the team at all the races and now I am with HRT but I still have the connection with Red Bull.
What do you think are the reasons for success of Sebastian Vettel and the team over the last couple of years?
The team is very professional, they definitely have some good people on board and everyone knows Adrian Newey is very smart, but with that you need the good drivers and Seb (Vettel) and Mark (Webber) have won many races since they've been there. I think sometimes you can't explain what the reason for the success is but it's the winning package. They are doing what it takes to get it done and they learn quick.
Narain Karthikeyan is your teammate at HRT. How has the interaction with Narain been so far?
I spoke with Narain a little bit in Nurburgring and I haven't spoken to him too much but he's pretty aggressive and I think the Indians definitely love his style, which I think is great to watch. As for India, he said it's quite hot, with a lot of people, the food is very nice and he is always taking some of the team to some traditional Indian restaurants. I'm looking forward to letting him take me to some nice place when we're there in India.
Will this be your first visit to India? Any plans after the race?
This will be my first time in India. When we get there for the race we might have a day off to acclimatise. I will probably spend some time in the city and have a look around and then get down to business. The end of the year is quite busy and quite hectic so normally we fly out on Sunday after the race or on the Monday and try and get as much time for ourselves before the next Grand Prix.
Credit: The Times of India (timesofindia.indiatimes.com)
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