Daniel Ricciardo has set his sights on catching the Mercedes pair of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg next season after a promising first year with Red Bull.

Chosen as Mark Webber's replacement at the Milton Keynes-based team, the young Aussie outshone four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel and was the only grand prix winner outside of Mercedes in 2014.

However, 25-year-old is eager for improvement next year.

He told reporters: "I think this year was a big step forward in my career, a big step in the direction I wanted it to go in.

"Obviously the Mercedes were dominant, but I was able to score the only other three wins of the season, so that was a big year for me. Once you make one step you want to keep making more. I won't settle for anything else now. We'll see.

"I'm sure Lewis was very humble but I'm sure Mercedes are going to very quick again next year. But the gap's there for us to close, so hopefully we can do that and looking forward to the future now."

Ricciardo finished third in the 2014 drivers' rankings, 146 points behind champion Hamilton.