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I can be world champ: Ricciardo

High hopes: Daniel Ricciardo. Picture: Getty Images

He is about to embark on the biggest season of his career - and Daniel Ricciardo is ready.

The 25-year-old Duncraig boy with the killer smile wants to become the first West Australian to claim a Formula One world title - and believes 2015 could be his year.

The Red Bull racer will climb behind the wheel at Melbourne's Albert Park circuit for next Sunday's Australian Grand Prix buoyed by an unprecedented level of support.

Away from the track the budding global superstar is already winning a new legion of fans across the country, breathing new life into the sport.

Speaking to _The Weekend _ _West _on the eve of the Grand Prix, Ricciardo said he was noticing people with no former interest in motor racing being drawn to the sport because of him.

"Not so many years ago the average Joe didn't really know much about Formula One," he says.

"The name of (F1 great) Michael Schumacher would ring some bells to some people, but that's pretty much it. Now you feel like the average Joe knows 10 drivers on the grid, so it's blown up quite a bit.

"It's nice to play my role a bit in Australia. I think motor sport's in a good place at the moment."

The numbers don't lie.

Attendance levels for the Australian Grand Prix have hovered around 300,000 for much of the past decade while compatriot Mark Webber was flying the local flag.

This year ticket sales are almost 10 per cent ahead of the same time last year.

Corporate hospitality sales are also up 8 per cent on the back of what organisers have dubbed the Ricciardo factor.

The man himself has almost half a million followers on Twitter and counting.

He even has a go-kart range named after him, with kids from Italy to Wanneroo (at Ricciardo's old stomping ground the Tiger Kart Club) driving Ricciardo Karts.

Ricciardo lives in Monaco but much of his appeal stems from him remaining grounded in a sport known for its trappings and glamour.

There is his Aussie slang or the jeans he wears around the F1 paddock. He even still owns his first car - a Toyota Hilux - so he can drive it around while back in Perth.

"People are just warming to him," Australian Grand Prix Corporation chief executive Andrew Westacott says.

"Maybe it's the age, maybe it's the smile, the freshness, the way he approaches it.

"Daniel Ricciardo is great for the sport."

That interest has only grown with last year's breakout season.

In his first year at powerhouse team Red Bull Racing, Ricciardo dominated star teammate and four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel.

He won three races and was the only driver to take grand prix victories away from rival team Mercedes. Vettel won none and announced before the season was over that he was leaving Red Bull.

Racers that Ricciardo grew up idolising, such as Indycar legend Dario Franchitti, were suddenly talking about him as world championship material.

He finished last year's season third in the championship standings.

Now nothing but the championship itself will do.

"I think I proved last year that I did win races, so that's the first step and I think a world title is just winning a few more," Ricciardo says.

"It's not like the world title itself is a bigger race, so to speak.

"It's just an accumulation of many and if I can win a few, then I believe I can win a few more and put myself in a title hunt.

"You need the tools, but obviously with all that in my hands I believe I can do it."

Ricciardo has proved he has the raw speed to become the first Australian since Alan Jones in 1980 to win a world championship.

Only last month he set a record for the fastest lap on British television show Top Gear, shaving 0.7 seconds off the previous best time.

The man he knocked off the top of the timesheets was reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton.

But in F1 as Ricciardo knows, it is not just about the skills. It is also about the equipment.

The WA racer will have to rely on the engine being good enough in his high-tech car that he will drive around Albert Park at speeds in excess of 300km/h.

Business partner Michael Patrizi has witnessed the hunger in his close friend over the summer.

"Mercedes are the benchmark going on pre-season testing, but I'm sure if anyone can beat them it will be Daniel," he says.

"The Aussie crowd will support him in Melbourne and that does wonders for somebody's confidence.

"He's ready to lead that team.

"There's more hunger in Daniel this year than there ever has been. Being so close last year to that world championship I know that he's going to want it even more. He's had a sniff. Now he wants a bite."

The Australian Grand Prix has been a barren ground for home-grown drivers when it comes to victories.

Even Ricciardo's best result in achieving a second place last year was snatched from him.

His disqualification on technical grounds came just hours after being showered in champagne on the podium after a dramatic finish.

Ricciardo is hoping for a change of luck coinciding with the 20-year anniversary of the race in Melbourne.

And though he admits the week will be typically "full on", he cannot wait to pull out of pit lane for the first time with the roar of a home crowd behind him.

"Pulling out of the pits and getting on track, knowing there's a few more cheers for you when you hit the circuit - that's cool," he says.

"Last year I did what I could and I thought I drove well.

"It was circumstances out of my control. For me personally I just go out there and try and get a bit of redemption, but driving- wise I won't change too much. I'll just hang it all out and hopefully get some reward from it.

"A home victory would be awesome. I got asked a question not too long ago - if you could only win one race, which one would it be? I think everyone would answer their home grand prix.

"I got a taste of the podium there last year and that was already massive, so I think one better would be very special."

Unlike previous years, Ricciardo will miss out on a week back in Perth to unwind immediately after the Australian Grand Prix.

His next visit to WA will have to wait until Christmas, but the presence of family and friends from his New man College school days in Melbourne will make the week feel like home.

His father Joe will be trackside with wife Grace as part of their annual pilgrimage.

"Everybody is right behind him, even if they're 80-year-old grandmothers who don't even know what a race car looks like," Joe says.

"They're all watching Daniel."