Cash crunch Hispania replaces Narain with 'rich' Daniel

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Narain Karthikeyan is likely to sit out of next weekend’s British Grand Prix as his beleaguered Hispania Racing team are planning to replace the Indian with Daniel Ricciardo.

Australian Ricciardo is the current test driver for Toro Rosso. Back markers Hispania’s cash crunch is no secret and are known for their ‘musical chairs’. Midway through the 2010 season, Hispania dropped Indian Karun Chandhok to accommodate Sakon Yamamoto, who came up with more sponsorship backing.

It was learnt that Ricciardo has also been knocking the door with a support from Red Bull. Sources from the Spain-based team, however, suggested that Narain will surely be in the cockpit for the inaugural Indian GP to be held on October 30.

“Hispania are on the verge of completing the loan from Toro Rosso. Official confirmation of the deal will be made soon,” the source added.

The Australian youngster has been linked with a move into a race seat with Toro Rosso on the back of a series of impressive performances in Friday practice session, with Jaime Alguersuari and Sebastien Buemi both seen to be under pressure and at risk of losing their drives.

With the 2009 British F3 championship under his belt and having finished runner-up in the Formula Renault series last year, Ricciardo has been considered the bright prospect for F1 graduation.