Red Bull young driver Jean-Eric Vergne says he is ready to replace Mark Webber – Formula 1 news
Red Bull young driver Jean-Eric Vergne has said that he is ready to be as good as Mark Webber, if given an opportunity of a race seat.
Vergne impressed at the Young Driver Test held in Abu Dhabi where he had ample time to experience the dominating RB7 car of Red Bull. He finished at the top in all three sessions of the test and showed good improvement after each session. Red Bull have been
on the lookout for a driver to replace Webber when he retires, and Vergne believes that he has shown enough potential to replace him.
However Vergne’s immediate target should be a seat with Toro Rosso but with drivers like Jaime Alguersuari, Sebastien Buemi and Daniel Ricciardo, he feels that he has shown enough potential to be recognised as a replacement for Webber.
“When I came back (from the test) I saw the comments of (engineering boss) Ian Morgan and they were very positive, I cannot hide it,” Vergne is quoted by Le Nouvel Observateur.
“I know that the top teams are cautious of young drivers; the only one (McLaren) that dared to go with a young guy recently was Hamilton, and it worked,” he suggested at the potential of Red Bull giving him an opportunity early in his career.
“We have had a similar preparation; I did three days of testing and physically had no problems. So I think if I was put in the Red Bull, I would do no worse than Webber,” he further added.
Vergne though admitted that he realises that he needs to give a strong performance in the FP1 at Brazil in order to show that he has the potential of a consistent showing at the highest levels.
The young driver also elaborated that he understands there is still a long way to go for him, and that he has to take one step at a time and not go too far ahead of himself. That is why his main priority is to do well in the practice session for Toro Rosso.
Vergne has shown signs of good prospects in the future but how he moulds his career remains to be seen.
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