Now that's what you call a drag race: Formula One race car takes on F-18 Hornet fighter jet

• F-1 champs Red Bull line up new driver Daniel Ricciardo alongside Royal Australian Air Force jet

By Daily Mail Reporter
Few vehicles can keep pace with a Formula One race car over any distance but here's one that may be in with a shout.
Reigning F-1 champions Red Bull lined up their latest driver Daniel Ricciardo alongside a Royal Australian Air Force F/A-18 Hornet fighter jet for a spectacular drag race.
The event was held at a military airbase near Melbourne ahead of the Australian Grand Prix so Aussie driver Ricciardo was the obvious choice to get behind the wheel.

Blink and you'll miss it: A Red Bull F-1 car goes up against an Australian Air Force F-18 fighter jet

The F-1 car is dwarfed by the fighter as they line up on the runway at a military airbase near Melbourne

Impressively the race car was quicker off the mark than the jet, screeching off the line and pulling out an early lead.

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But there was only ever going to be one winner, and when the awesome power of the Hornet's two jet engines kicked in, it surged ahead before soaring off into the clouds.
It is Ricciardo's first season with Red Bull with the 24-year-old replacing fellow Australian Mark Webber. His teammate Sebastian Vettel's is the reigning world champion.
Red Bull, which is based in Milton Keynes have been struggling to adapt their car to the new rules for 2014 whilst maintaining their performance, with the biggest obstacle appearing to be incorporating the new turbo-charged 1.6 litre V6 engines with a host of energy-saving devices. 

RED BULL INFINITI RB10

Engine: V6 1.6l turbo boosted by electric motor  
Power: 750bhp
Top speed: 205mph (estimated)
Weight: 690kg
Electronics: MESL standard Electronic Control Unit
Optional extras: Wet weather tyres / Fluffy dice / go faster stripe /

MCDONNELL DOUGLAS F-18 HORNET

Engine: 2x General Electric F404 low-bypass turbofan engines
Power: 32,000-pound-thrust
Top speed: Mach 1.8 (1,190mph)
Weight: 23,537kg (in fighter role)
Electronics: Radar / helmet-mounted sights / missile guidance system
Optional extras: Vulcan six-barrel cannon / AIM-9 Sidewinder missile / cluster bomb

Australian Red Bull drive Daniel Ricciardo was at the wheel of the race car

Replacing the old V8 engines, this change is seen by many as the principal defining factor on the track as opposed to aerodynamics.
Looking ahead to the season Horner believes it won't be until May before Red Bull are competitive. He said: 
‘We believe it is inherently a good car. I have every confidence in the team. There’s no panic.
'There are engineering solutions and there is no better set of engineers in the pit lane. By the time we get to the European races in May, we should be OK.’