Australian F1 racer Daniel Riccardio and his honey badger helmet Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo is inspired by the honey badger. DANIEL Ricciardo has a Honey Badger inked onto his racing helmet. "Looks a bit docile, doesn't it?" the Australian F1 racer laughs. Friendly even. But if someone steps on this little guy's turf, if someone upsets him . . . mate, he's the most fearless, most vicious creature in all the Animal Kingdom. Speaking down the phoneline from his new base in Monaco, 24-year-old Ricciardo is now only days from replacing Mark Webber, for so long this country's biggest motor racing name, in the Red Bull F1 Racing team. Having swapped his West Australian hometown of Perth for Italy at only 17 - "not the easiest move when you don't speak Italian" - this larrikin Aussie is now set to increase his annual salary from about $600,000 to over $2 million. Yet when asked recently about the young gun with whom he'll soon be sharing a garage, four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel replied: "Ah, I know he's always smiling." Not that Ricciardo, returning to Sydney next March for the Top Gear Festival, minds. "Well, I am racing F1," he tells The Daily Telegraph. So if I'm not smiling now, when would I be? And so we come full circle to that honey badger. A honey badger. See, despite his laid-back appearance, Ricciardo stands alongside Vettel as the only drivers to progress all the way from the Red Bull Young Driver school to Formula 1. Better, during said school the Aussie's test times were just two-tenths off those set by the German - with some suggesting after adjustments for fuel, tyres and track conditions the Aussie was actually faster. But there's always statistics isn't there? Ricciardo laughs. I was definitely on Vettel's pace but unless you're out there racing one another, same track, same conditions, same air temperature it really is hard to compare. Let's just say the numbers on my page look good. And as for replacing Webber, who is retiring from F1 to compete in the Porsche sports car program? "It's a real honour," the West Australian says. After I signed the Red Bull deal, Mark spoke with me and said he was happy for me to keep the Australian flag on the car. He then reminded me that I'm here because I've earned it. Mark obviously carried Australia for a decade so it was nice to hear. Ironically, when he arrives for the Top Gear Festival next March, Ricciardo will also get a crack at the Sydney Motorsport Park lap record - set last year by Webber in his Red Bull Racing RB7. "One minute, 13.6 seconds," Ricciardo laughs. When it comes to stepping in for Mark, that's probably a nice way to kick things off.