Aussie Riccardio clinches Toro Rosso drive

Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo was named as a driver for the Toro Rosso team on Wednesday for the 2012 Formula One world championship after spending the second half of the 2011 season with HRT. At Toro Rosso, he will team-up with France’s Jean-Eric Vergne with the duo replacing Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari who held the seats last season. Ricciardo, 22, from Perth, drove for Toro Rosso during Friday's free practice sessions at races in the early part of the 2011 campaign. "This is a really big deal for me and something I have wanted ever since I was driving for Toro Rosso on Friday mornings at the races in the first part of last season," Riccardio said in a team statement. "To be honest, I am still jumping up and down with excitement at the news." "In the second half of 2011 I learned a lot from the people I worked with, racing in 11 Grands Prix and I want to thank them for the opportunity they gave me," said the Perth driver. "I have to say that joining Scuderia Toro Rosso was always my real goal, so a big thank you to Red Bull for giving me this fantastic opportunity and now I can’t wait to get to work once testing begins." Vergne, 21, drove for Toro Rosso in practice at three of the last four Grands Prix of the 2011 season.