Ricciardo longing to drive 'the fastest car in the world'!

©RedBull

After a winter in which he blended a bit of pleasure with some hard physical training, Daniel Ricciardo is ready to hit the road next week in Barcelona, with his new mount, the Red Bull RB13.

The new car was launched online earlier today and Ricciardo joins the consensus assessing the RB13's lean and smooth looks.

"My first impression is that it looks quite beautiful, and definitely looks sleek," said the Honeybadger.

"These cars look like the fastest cars in the world! That's the impression I get."

Ricciardo says he has no inhibitions when it comes to racing a #13.

"Look, I'm not superstitious at all. I think superstitions are just an excuse for things to go wrong. Never been in to it, so I'm happy the team have stuck to the general trend and gone with '13', which comes after '12'."

Red Bull Racing launches the RB13!

As he patiently awaits driving the RB13 in anger, the Aussie admits the entire Red Bull outfit is heading into the season bulging with motivation.

"We've really set ourselves up well to continue on the trend that we had in 2016. We're looking strong, we're looking good. Everyone is definitely in the right mindset right now and that hunger is back."

Evidently, the man with the most generous smile in the paddock will be happy to get behind the wheel of a race car tomorrow.

"I've missed race weekends – the F1 circus," he says.

"We got to the end of the season and it was like 'I'm done with this for a while – give me a holiday', but now we're coming up to the start of the year and I'm hungry for that again. Everyone's posting videos and photos of their training in the off-season but now let's do our talking on the track and see what happens!"

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.