Jean-Eric Vergne, who impressed massively during the young driver test last week, believes he would ‘do no worse than Mark Webber’ if he were in the Red Bull car.
The Frenchman managed a best time of 1:38.917, just four tenths slower than Sebastian Vettel’s pole position time (1:38.481) and less than a tenth slower than Webber’s (1:38.858).
Whilst the level of grip would have been substanially higher given the race and two days of testing had taken place, the Frenchman is of the opinion that he could have gone even quicker had the car been ‘turned up’ to its full potential, as it would have been in qualifying.
“I read on my return [from the test] the statements from Ian Morgan (Red Bull race engineer), and they were very positive, I cannot hide it,” Vergne wrote in his column for Le Nouvel Observateur.
“My best time was done with a car that was not at the maximum of its possibilities, far from it,” added the 21-year-old.
Vergne, who is on the list to join Toro Rosso next year, believes the tops teams need to take a chance on young drivers, as McLaren did with Lewis Hamilton.
“Top teams are cautious of young drivers. Yet the only top team that dared to hire a rookie recently was [McLaren with] Hamilton, and it worked.
“So I think if you put me in the Red Bull, I would do no worse than Webber. It’s my impression anyway after these tests.
“Yet I know that the road is still long and where I go next is Brazil. This is my last practice session with Toro Rosso before I know what I will be doing next season.”
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