When Red Bull announced last September that Daniel Ricciardo had secured the seat vacated by Mark Webber for the 2014, there was widespread scepticism.
After all, in just over two years in Formula 1, first with HRT and subsequently with Toro Rosso, the ever-grinning Australian had only a handful of Q3 appearances and a smattering of minor points finishes on his CV.
With Kimi Raikkonen on the market and under serious consideration, many wondered exactly what Red Bull had seen in Ricciardo. Some suggested he was the easy option, a cut-price number two who would support Sebastian Vettel in a way that a driver of Raikkonen's status could not do.