Christian Horner hails Jean-Eric Vergne and Daniel Ricciardo as future prospects – Formula 1 news
Red Bull principal Christian Horner has come out in special praise for the Toro Rosso pair Jean-Eric Vergne and Daniel Ricciardo.
Horner believes that both drivers have done really well in lower Formulas and are expected to do really well in the F1. He said that he has complete faith in the duo and ranks them as future drivers for Red Bull.
He said that putting them as teammates will show just how well they have developed as drivers. Both drivers have been former British Formula 3 drivers. Toro Rosso replaced Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari with the duo.
The announcement came in with a bit of shock from the previous drivers and followers of the sport as well. Toro Rosso and Red Bull maintained that the decision was taken keeping in mind that Toro Rosso has been set up as a platform to introduce new exciting
and fresh talent to Formula 1. Both drivers have come through the ranks of Red Bull’s junior driver programme.
Jaime Alguersuari also said that even though he was shocked at losing his race seat but did not want to blame anyone or the team as he was also given the same opportunity from the same young driver programme.
Red Bull says it will stay committed to the cause to bring young talent as FIA has made testing limited it does not allow young drivers to develop.
“They are two of the most exciting talents on the periphery of F1,” Horner told Autosport. “To put them in the same environment gives us a much better visibility in terms of seeing how they progress.”
“They have done tremendously well in the lower formulas and in test and simulation work for Red Bull Racing and we are fully supportive of their promotion into the race seats,” he added.
Talking about their future into the Red Bull team Horner explained that it the onus is on the drivers to perform to the best of their abilities and if they show the skill and hunger required it is very much a possibility.
“Time will tell. There are no guarantees. It's the best way to see how their talent evolves over the next season or so,” he said.
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