Daniel Ricciardo currently has the upper-hand when it comes to negotiate a deal with Red Bull, should the sister team come knocking at Toro Rosso’s door, according to team principal Franz Tost.
Ricciardo currently has seven points compared to team-mate Jean-Eric Vergne’s one. Tost believes he has outperformed Vergne and says it’s partly down to the experience he gained at HRT.
“Performance is all that matters [for Red Bull] and you definitely can see that Daniel with 11 races more under his belt – which is more than half of a season – is probably in a better situation [than Vergne],” he told the official Formula One website.
“Right now he has the upper hand, which we have seen in Barcelona. But that is a snapshot right now. Generally I would say that both would fit into the Red Bull concept.”
However the Austrian says both drivers would have to perform better if they were to be considered as replacements for either Mark Webber or Sebastian Vettel.
“Both would have to demonstrate an exceptionally good second half of the season, because don’t forget we are speaking about the world champions, so the requirement profile is quite different to being with a team like Toro Rosso,” he said.
Adding: “But don’t get me wrong, both are on a very good path and everything will depend on the next couple of months as to whether one of the two of them – should the need be there – qualify for Red Bull Racing.”
