“Just have fun” – Ricciardo’s personal message to Rullo

Rullo will become the youngest ever driver to start a Supercars main game race in Adelaide next month when he makes his debut as an LD Motorsport driver.

Having been a rookie thrown in the deep end himself back in 2011 when he made his Formula 1 debut with the Hispania Racing Team, Ricciardo recorded a personal video message to encourage fellow West Aussie Rullo ahead of his Clipsal debut.

First played on Australian current affairs show Today Tonight, the video shows Ricciardo telling Rullo to enjoy the experience, and be willing to learn from the more experienced drivers in the series.

“You will obviously be overwhelmed with many things that weekend, but if you just stay cool you will do great,” said the F1 star.

“For me the biggest thing when I got into F1 with HRT, that first weekend was crazy. I think the biggest challenge was not the race itself but the media and everything surrounding it, and just trying to save some energy for the race on Sunday.

“I think it will be hectic. Obviously it is cool to be excited about it but just make sure you save a little bit in the bag for the race itself and just ride along with it and don’t overthink it too much.

“Just have fun, basically.

“Going up against guys like [Sebastian] Vettel and having some success over those experienced guys, from my point of view a big thing was learning from them and being open-minded.

“Obviously I believe a lot in my own ability, but you can always learn and appreciate what somebody else has done in the sport.

“I focussed on myself first but I was always trying to see if I could gain a little bit more from the likes of Vettel when I had him as a teammate.

“Just stay open-minded, be willing to learn, and you will go far in the sport. You’re young, your window for growth is very big.”

Rullo has been granted a Superlicence dispensation from the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport due to his age and lack of required ‘points’ on the CAMS system. Matt Chahda, who was set to join Rullo at LD Motorsport for the 2017 season, was denied dispensation after failing to meet the points criteria, which leaves a question mark over who will partner Rullo at the minnow squad.