Jean-Eric Vergne could remain at Toro Rosso in 2015, team principal Franz Tost has confirmed, but there is stiff competition for the seat.
The Frenchman looked to have lost any chance of staying with Toro Rosso when the team hired Max Verstappen to race alongside Daniil Kvyat, however with the news that Kvyat would replace Sebastian Vettel, a seat opened up at the Faenza team once again.
Vergne, alongside three others, are on the shortlist to take the Toro Rosso seat according to Tost.
“The situation is still open,” he told the official F1 website.
“I think the drivers that are shortlisted for Toro Rosso are: Jean-Eric, Carlos Sainz, Pierre Gasly and Alex Lynn. All four are Red Bull drivers and it will definitely be a Red Bull driver.”
However he confirmed, that whilst he would like to see Vergne stay, the decision would ultimately fall to Red Bull, with Helmut Marko likely to have the final say.
“I am still convinced that Jean-Eric can do a very good job in F1 if he gets a competitive car. He has shown this a couple of times and I personally would like to continue with him – but we have to wait to see what Red Bull decides.”
