Vergne, no longer in the running to replace Webber?

Christian Horner believes that having Daniel Ricciardo drive the Red Bull today was a good opportunity for him and for the team to evaluate him for a possible replacement of Mark Webber in 2014.

We are delighted to be able to evaluate Daniel for next year. Naturally, there is a lot of interest about the seat, but it’s an opportunity to assess Daniel and for him to do some work behind the wheel of our Red Bull, Horner told Sky Sports News.

The director of the Red Bull team was of course questioned about Mark Webber’s successor and asked if it now came down to a duel between Ricciardo and Räikkönen, he answered in the affirmative: « Essentially [yes], probably. »

If Daniel Ricciardo were to be chosen to drive for the Red Bull Racing team, it would free up a seat within the Toro Rosso team, which would be beneficial for Antonio Felix da Costa, who no longer hides his desire for F1 as soon as 2014, as he admitted at Silverstone: « I don’t hide that the goal is to be in F1 next year. I think it would be good to see a young driver at Red Bull because I think that’s the team’s goal for the young. »

The Portuguese driver, who is currently racing in Formula Renault 3.5, enjoyed the day and a half spent in the Red Bull and believes he has helped the Austrian team as much as he could: « Obviously, it’s not the first time for me, so everything was a bit more familiar. I think these were important tests for the team because being able to drive in the middle of the season is really very, very important, and obviously the tires will change during the next race, so we must ensure that we manage that well and are trying to understand some of the new parts that are coming. My job is to drive consistently and not make mistakes and to help the team as best I can. »