New Toro Rosso driver Daniel Ricciardo has admitted that he would love to graduate to the main Red Bull Racing team in the future, with the possibility of Mark Webber's seat becoming available for the 2013 Formula One season.
Ricciardo will drive for the Toro Rosso team in 2012 alongside another highly-rated Red Bull junior driver Jean-Eric Vergne.
Webber re-signed for the main Red Bull squad for 2012, but the expectation is that the Australian will call it a day at the end of the year.
That would leave Ricciardo and Vergne in effectively a season-long shoot-out for the chance to drive alongside Sebastian Vettel in 2013.
And while Ricciardo was quick to point out that any talk of 2013 was premature, he admitted that it was always a long-term aim for him to drive for Red Bull.
"There has already been talk about [me replacing Webber] in the media, which seems pretty optimistic," he told the official F1 website.
"We haven’t even sat in a car yet for 2012 and they are already looking at 2013. It’s a long time away and many things can happen between now and then, that’s the reality."
But he added: "One day I would love to race for Red Bull Racing, but that’s all it is for now - just a bit of a goal.
"I have 20 races this year which I will take one by one and make sure I leave every event fulfilled and with no regrets."
Ricciardo and Vergne graduated to the STR squad after the Red Bull company merrily replaced both Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari, despite both enjoying relatively promising 2011 seasons.
The duo were described as not being "winners" by Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko, and Ricciardo added that he was aware that he would be burdened with a similar pressure to succeed.
"I have been working with Dr Marko for four years now so I know very well that he has high expectations," he mused.
"It's always been the case. I use it as motivation to get the best out of myself and push to the very limit. If this is achieved then that's real success."
Meanwhile, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said over the weekend that nothing was "guaranteed" for the new Toro Rosso drivers, despite the expectation that one would graduate to RBR in the future.
"We are fortunate to have two guys as talented as [them] that fully deserve their chance in the Toro Rosso and I am fascinated to see how they evolve," he rambled at the Autosport International show.
But he added: "There is nothing guaranteed to those guys, they have got the opportunity and it's now down to them to take it and develop.
"We will be able to see, compared with each other, how they are progressing."
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