Daniel Ricciardo would like to clear one thing up. He does not have a big bum. "It's my hips," the Australian laughs in response to rumours that he might not actually fit into one of Adrian Newey's ergonomically-designed Red Bull cockpits next year.

"I've got wide hips. It's not my arse per se. I guess it's genetic. Even when I signed for Toro Rosso we had to do a few seat fits and they did some scans to make that particular part of the cockpit a bit wider, so that we're not sitting on the actual carbon fibre.

"But yeah, I've heard that Adrian does like to build small race cars. I can't do much about it. Even if I go on a massive diet my hip bones aren't going to change." Ricciardo's derriere aside - and there were rumours he was at Red Bull HQ this week for a special seat fitting - the 24 year-old's chances of a move to Red Bull for 2014 are looking good.

Certainly if upping sticks and moving to Monaco is any indication of having made it in Formula One, we can consider him already hired. It emerges during the course of our discussion that Ricciardo has just relocated to the Cote d'Azur from sunny Milton Keynes. Not that he coughs up this little nugget of information all that readily. "Well, umm, to be honest I have started to look into…" he begins when asked what it is like to be one of the few Formula One drivers to base himself within reach of Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs.

"Oh OK, I'll just come out and say it: I moved to Monaco last week! There. I wasn't going to advertise it, but yes, I'm out of Milton Keynes now. "To be honest, the weather and the ocean was a bigger factor than the tax. Not having a real summer, that was the biggest thing. I've been here [in the UK] for five years now and 41/2 of those were great. Then there are the financial benefits, of course, although they probably don't help me now. I'm not really earning enough to justify it." That may be about to change.

Ricciardo is in an awkward position with regard to Red Bull, unable to confirm or deny anything, yet having been at the centre of the speculation for months. The team continue to insist that all options are open, but Mark Webber's casual admission in Spa last weekend that his replacement was decided, that "we all know who it is" and that it was "good for him and good for Australia" confirmed in most paddock minds that Ricciardo has got the gig. "Until something is done I'm not getting too excited," is all he will say. "Then if it doesn't happen I won't kill myself."

A typically laid-back Aussie, largely unknown to sports fans in this country, Ricciardo could be about to become a major name if he is thrust into the spotlight alongside Sebastian Vettel. It would be a case of sink or swim for the man from Perth, one of the new generation of racers who has grown up with PlayStation and driver aids, who cites mixed martial arts and music festivals among his interests; a driver who is yet to stand on a Formula One podium but who will be expected to compete for wins from the word go next year. If Ricciardo is nervous at the prospect of going up alongside the triple world champion he hides it well.

"I am definitely aware that if I do get the opportunity to race alongside [Vettel], it is not going to be easy," he says. "But I would love to get the opportunity to prove to everyone that I have what it takes - and more than that, to know for myself that I can mix it with the big guys. If I can't, well, at least I can say I tried. But I believe I can."

There are those who believe he will not be allowed. Webber's regular bust-ups with Red Bull down the years over what he perceived to be their blatant favouritism towards Vettel - most notably at Silverstone in 2010 when he won an ill-tempered race after a dispute over equipment and remarked icily over the team radio "not bad for a No2 driver" - has left some with the impression that the Austrian-backed team are more interested in protecting their prize asset than challenging him. In the eyes of Red Bull's critics, the potential recruitment of a relative novice, a graduate of the Red Bull academy programme no less, rather than a world champion such as Lotus's Kimi Raikkonen, would only reinforce that impression. Ricciardo, as you might expect of an Australian - although not this summer ("Yeah, shut up!") - plays a straight bat to this line of inquiry.

"I guess I only know what you guys know," he says. "Malaysia this year, Silverstone a couple of years ago. But it's not something that I'm concerned with. From what I hear the team is very much interested in equality." Perhaps more interesting is his slight distancing of himself from Webber, as if he knows his compatriot has burned one too many bridges at Milton Keynes. "I would like to try to understand things for myself," he says when asked if he would pick Webber's brains should he get the call-up.

"Just so that I can say I did things on my own. I'm not saying that I would turn down any advice, not at all, but I won't go chasing him for it." In the meantime, Ricciardo will continue to bat away the rumours until his signing is confirmed. Or his bum rules him out of the running. "No chance," he laughs. "I'd shave my hips if necessary. I might die of blood loss but it would be worth it."