The Vergne/Ricciardo duel anticipated by Horner

Christian Horner, the team principal of Red Bull Racing, told the British press that he is eager to see Jean-Eric Vergne compete against Daniel Ricciardo. He believes that these two young drivers are the future of Red Bull in F1.

The Frenchman and the Australian will have the same equipment at Toro Rosso, and 2012 will be a year for comparisons. This will particularly allow for observing the development of these two drivers and potentially determining who is stronger and which of the two could join Red Bull Racing if a spot becomes available.

“They are two of the most interesting talents on the outskirts of F1. Putting them in the same environment will give us better visibility to see how they can progress,” Horner told Autosport.

They have incredibly succeeded in the lower categories and during testing and simulation work for Red Bull Racing, and we are fully supportive of their promotion to a race driver role.

The fight between the two men could also lead one of them to a seat at Red Bull Racing in 2013, replacing Mark Webber if he is not extended. Horner acknowledged that Vergne and Ricciardo were two interesting options, but for now nothing is decided.

These two guys are both very competitive. They are pure products of the Red Bull junior program and they are both Red Bull Racing drivers loaned to Toro Rosso for development. Time will tell. There is no guarantee (that they will ever drive for Red Bull Racing).

Horner also commented on another member of the Red Bull junior program, Sébastien Buemi, who was sidelined at Toro Rosso and managed to bounce back as the third driver for the Red Bull and Toro Rosso teams. He is delighted to have the Swiss driver in that role given his experience.

It’s very positive for us. Sebastien has three years of experience in Grand Prix, he knows the team well. He is very competent from a technical point of view and has a lot of experience with current F1. For us, the best scenario is to have Sebastien as a test and reserve driver.

Christian Horner also commented on “the Webber case.” He believes that even though the Australian driver had a difficult season compared to Sebastian Vettel in 2011, he will be back in 2012 to do better.

«Mark has been on our team for five seasons now and he is a very important member of the team. He trains hard, his motivation always seems very high, and I am convinced that he will be fully focused on having a great 2012 season,» added Horner.