Ricciardo says Silverstone debut a dream come true for him

The Australian is making his grand prix debut at Silverstone, having replaced Narain Karthikeyan at the Hispania team for the rest of the season.

Ricciardo, who was Toro Rosso's reserve driver this year, is aiming to finish his first race and to make progress from there.

"I'm very happy to have my first Formula 1 race coming up at Silverstone," said Ricciardo. "It means a lot to me. I'm sure, as many of us here, we dream it as kids but don't really believe that one day it will actually happen! It will be a very special moment for me, perhaps a little emotional too.

"I am very happy with the deal. I didn't think I would be racing an F1 car this season so for Red Bull to have found me a seat is awesome and I'm grateful to have this opportunity and the support from both teams.

"Hopefully it won't take me too long to adapt to the car, in the past I think I've adapted well to new environments and cars so I'm confident that by the end of the weekend I will have made strong progress from the start.

"My aim is to finish as many races as I can and get the experience under my belt. I think this is most important for me as a young driver, experience is priceless. Of course, I would also love to bring the car and the team further up the grid and have some successful races." For the Silverstone weekend I think my first aim is to finish, physically and mentally this will be a good reward and all part of the learning process."

Team boss Colin Kolles is delighted to have the Australian in his team, praising Ricciardo as one of the "greatest talents in motorsport".

"First of all, I am very proud and happy to conclude the deal with Red Bull Racing and to welcome Daniel to our team. He is one of the greatest talents in motorsport and we hope to give him a lot of mileage in order to prepare him for the future."