Ricciardo endorsed by Webber and Vettel but still not confirmed
Daniel Ricciardo seems to have the favor of the Red Bull Racing team to replace Mark Webber in 2014, but for now, nothing has been signed as Christian Horner revealed. In any case, the Australian has strong support from Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel, the current drivers of the Austrian team.
This weekend at Spa-Francorchamps, Daniel Ricciardo was not confirmed by Red Bull as had been previously mentioned, but Mark Webber reaffirmed that his compatriot should indeed succeed him next year alongside Sebastian Vettel.
« The decision is made. We all know who it is. I am happy with this decision. It’s good for him and good for Australia, » Webber told Australian television channel Channel 10.
Christian Horner, the director of the Red Bull Racing team, insisted on denying the statements of his driver, quoted by Reuters: « There is a lot of speculation about this, but nothing has been signed for the moment. The comments have sometimes been taken out of context. Mark is obviously not aware of all the discussions with the drivers. When there is something to announce, we will announce it. »
Horner also revealed that Daniel Ricciardo was already under contract with the Austrian team… just like Jean-Eric Vergne: « Both Toro Rosso drivers are under contract with Red Bull. They are loaned to Toro Rosso. So they are available at any time if we need to call upon them. Therefore, we don’t have to worry about them both… the reason we took the time to explore other options is because there is an important seat to fill with Mark’s departure next year. »
Daniel Ricciardo also wanted to refute the remarks of his compatriot to the site formula1news.ru: « Did he really say that? We all know Mark – he likes to make predictions, sometimes they are true, sometimes not. It’s nice that he supports me, so I take these words as a compliment. But I’m sure that if I had a contract, I would know. I don’t think we’ll have to wait too long from the team, but I haven’t heard anything yet. »
Sebastian Vettel still does not know who will accompany him next season, but the triple world champion told Totalrace that choosing Ricciardo would make sense: « The last few weeks have been very busy from this point of view, but [signing Ricciardo] would make sense. He has been with us for a long time. Some doubt that Daniel is ready, but you can also ask yourself if I was ready when I arrived at Red Bull. How can we know in advance? It’s not my decision, but I get along well with him. »
