Daniel Ricciardo has admitted he will earn less than $500,000 in 2012.
And the Australian rookie also confirmed that, when he made his grand prix debut last year with HRT, his sponsor Red Bull paid him only for the race seat, not a salary.

“Yeah, it’s quite a strange journey to formula one because it’s so elite and when you get there it can turn around very quickly,” he told Australia’s Fox channel.

“(On) the road to getting there, you’re always climbing a ladder, but you don’t really see the rewards until you get well established,” the 22-year-old added.

Ricciardo told television host Eddie McGuire that Toro Rosso will pay him some money in 2012.

“A little bit,” he smiled. “Let’s say I can buy myself a pair of jeans now, but not a mansion.”

He confirmed he is earning “less than” half a million dollars.

Some of that has already been spent — on a set of dental braces.

“I figured, just to keep my feet on the ground, I won’t get too beautiful,” Ricciardo laughed to the Herald Sun. “So I’ve got a mouth full of beautiful metal instead.”

Enstone based Renault could reportedly lose control of its formula one team after taking out a bank loan.

The Evening Standard reports that the team, now majority owned by the Luxembourg-based investment firm Genii Capital, has borrowed money from Lithuania’s AB Snoras.

The report said the reason for the loan is a cash shortage after losing sponsors including Mutua Madrilena, Pepe Jeans and Dutch bank ING in the wake of the crashgate scandal.

“It’s not known when the loan has to be repaid by but it is clear that if the team fails to repay, Snoras could call in its security and take control of it,” said the newspaper.