Image: Wayne Lubdey/Herald Sun

Australian Daniel Ricciardo today confirmed that he will join the current championship winning team Red Bull Racing for next year alongside current world champion Sebastian Vettel.

The 24-year-old has signed a multi-year agreement to race for the Infiniti team, after ending months of speculation since fellow Australian Mark Webber announced his retirement from the sport at the end of this season.

The Western Australian has been linked with Red Bull since entering the Formula 1 grid.

He was originally their test driver in 2011, before joining the Red Bull sponsored Torro Rosso team in 2012.

“Next year I’ll be with a championship-winning team, arguably the best team and will be expected to deliver,” said Ricciardo.

“I’m not here to run around in 10th place, I want to get the best results for myself and the team.

“It will be a great challenge to be up against Sebastian Vettel; I’m looking forward to that.”

Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner stated that the decision to take Ricciardo on board was an easy one.

“It’s fantastic to confirm Daniel as one of the team’s race drivers for 2014,” said Horner.

“He’s a very talented youngster, he’s committed, he’s got a great attitude and in the end it was a very logical choice for us to choose Daniel.

“Daniel knows what the team expects from him; he’ll learn quickly and it’s very much a medium to long term view that we’re taking in developing him.

Australian Webber praised Red Bull’s decision and personally used Twitter to congratulate Ricciardo.

The next round of the FIA Formula 1 championship will start this Friday with practice at Monza, while Ricciardo currently sits at 14th in the championship.

Written by Loren Hazelwood