Recently crowned World Series by Renault 3.5 champion, Robin Frijns will be rewarded on Thursday with a day of driving in the Red Bull RB8 during the now traditional young driver tests in Abu Dhabi. However, the Dutchman does not see any immediate future with Red Bull: “I have twice said no to Red Bull,” the 21-year-old told De Telegraaf<\/i>. “I know their game. You can’t decide what you want to do and if you don’t do what they want, you’re out. They treat you like a dog. In my career, I have always made my own choices and I want to continue like that. I need people I can trust around me and therefore Red Bull is not for me, even if I’ve won more than Vettel did before making a name for himself in Formula 1.”<\/p>\n
Robin Frijns confirms, in an interview with GPUpdate.net<\/i>, that the Red Bull program is not for him: \u00ab I received an offer twice, just after I won the Formula BMW Europe [in 2010, editor’s note]. The way their program operates, it simply isn’t for me. The deal to be part of it wasn’t really fair and you can’t choose where you race, so you lose a lot of freedom. They decide which team you drive for, but personally I am very sensitive when it comes to my teams… I want to be able to choose how I can help create something special. In hindsight, it worked out well for me. \u00bb<\/p>\n
If it is difficult, after such statements, to imagine a future at Milton Keynes or Faenza for Robin Frijns, it nonetheless remains true that the Maastricht native will indeed have an opportunity to make a mark at the wheel of what is currently the best single-seater on the grid. But before that, this Tuesday, Frijns will have already experienced the joy of his first official laps, driving the Sauber C31: The test with Sauber will be something special because I really earned it thanks to my performances. The one with Red Bull is the reward that comes with my title in Formula Renault 3.5. I also have better relations with Sauber than with Red Bull, but of course, they still have the best car this year. I just need to prove myself during these two days, confides the Dutchman to GPUpdate.net.<\/p>\n
And Frijns adds: \u00ab I prepared myself, but I don’t know if one can really be ready for a Formula 1 test. We just see how it goes and do our best: hopefully, it will be good enough and I can let my talent speak during these tests. \u00bb The young driver’s immediate goal is indeed to reach Formula 1 as quickly as possible, a chance that Sauber today seems more likely to offer him than Red Bull: \u00ab Do I want to become Nico H\u00fclkenberg’s teammate? Where do I sign? To be honest, I don’t care who my teammate is. I just want a Formula 1 seat. Of course, it’s not very easy, especially for a Dutchman, but I’m doing my best. This test will have a huge influence on my future. \u00bb<\/p>\n
Autosport believes it knows that Peter Sauber’s team intends to commit long-term with the young Frijns: “With Robin, we think he is a very talented driver and that’s why we want to give him this opportunity. For now, it’s just a test and we’ll see what happens,” confided Monisha Kaltenborn, director of the Hinwil-based team, at the end of October.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Invited to participate in the Abu Dhabi Young Driver Tests with Sauber and Red Bull, Robin Frijns, who had just won the Formula Renault 3.5 championship, claims to have declined a proposal from the Austrian firm twice to join their young driver program, convinced that it would have deprived him of a freedom that is incredibly important to him.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":41251,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,1749],"tags":[49,404,1334],"class_list":["post-18202","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-f1","category-news","tag-alfa-romeo-racing","tag-frijns","tag-red-bull"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n