- Toro Rosso
Vergne: I could match Ricciardo
Outgoing Toro Rosso driver Jean-Eric Vergne thinks his F1 results suggest he could be as successful as former team-mate Daniel Ricciardo if given a more competitive car.
Vergne team-mate comparison
- 2012: Vergne 16 pts, Ricciardo 10 pts
- 2013: Vergne 13 pts, Ricciardo 20 pts
- 2014: Vergne 11 pts, Kvyat 8 pts
After Mark Webber announced his retirement last season, Red Bull chose to promote Ricciardo over Vergne, a decision paying dividends after the Australian's three victories this season. Vergne will be replaced by teen prodigy Max Verstappen for 2015 and as such his F1 future is up in the air, but he points to Ricciardo as proof he could also be a success higher up the grid.
"Doing three years at Toro Rosso makes me very strong," Vergne said. "If the key people in some teams trust me, and trust that I can make it [then I have a chance].
"Daniel in a way is a good help for me because some teams expect world champion drivers, but maybe [the future] is not in world champion drivers, but in younger drivers who are really hungry and motivated, and that's what I am. When you look at my results compared to Daniel all of our career, I have the potential to be what he is."
Vergne wants to keep his 2015 options open but says he would be unwilling to step into a reserve driver role just to stay in F1.
"There are so many drivers who wanted to focus on F1 and got nowhere. So I am not stupid - I have my eyes open I would say. I would really love to race. It depends on the chance I will get to drive in a race, but at the moment my focus is on getting a race seat."
© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
