Ricciardo to skip race for Chinese F1 duty

Daniel Ricciardo will sit out the opening round of the Formula Renault 3.5 season next month as his F1 duties take precedence.

Putting enormous pressure on Toro Rosso’s race lineup this year, the Australian has been appointed by team owner Red Bull to drive on the morning of every initial F1 practice session.

He kicked off his duties in Melbourne, and will be back in action in Malaysia next weekend.

One week after that, the F1 circus heads to China, but 21-year-old Ricciardo is also scheduled to commence his 2011 Formula Renault campaign with the Red Bull-sponsored ISR team in Spain in mid-April.

"Unfortunately that means that I’m going to miss the first Formula Renault 3.5 race in Spain," he confirmed to ozracingwrap.com.au.

"It’s great to get more F1 time, and I’m hugely grateful for the opportunity, but it just means I’m going to have to work a bit harder to win the title this year," he smiled.