Posted on 20th October 2014
Which promising Red Bull backed driver will Toro Rosso sign to F1 in 2015?
Before the start of Practice 3 at the Japanese Grand Prix two weeks ago, the news that four times World Champion Sebastian Vettel would be leaving Red Bull at the end of the season potentially to go to Ferrari next year. It was also announced by the Red Bull team that Vettel would be subsequently replaced by Toro Rosso rookie Daniil Kvyat to partner current driver Daniel Ricciardo for the 2015 season.
There are several candidates in line to replace Kvyat at Toro Rosso for next season. But the big question for me is; who is most likely to partner Max Verstappen at the team in 2015?
The favourite and most logical choice would be Carlos Sainz Jr. He has been very impressive this year in Formula Renault 3.5 and has been recently crowned champion of the series with 227 points and finished 35 points ahead of fellow Red Bull driver Pierre Gastly.
Despite Sainz Jr being the most logical choice to replace Kvyat (especially after winning Formula Renault 3.5 title), it should be noted head of the Red Bull young driver programme Dr Helmut Marko defies logic on most occasions as earlier in the year he chose 17-year old Max Verstappen over Sainz Jr and it may happen again if Marko sees it necessary and does believe that Sainz Jr has the talent and what it takes to succeed in Formula One.
Another hot prospect for Toro Rosso to consider is Pierre Gasly. He has also been competing in the Formula Renault 3.5 series this season. At only 18-years of age, the Frenchman finished second in the championship behind Sainz Jr accumulating 192 points and eight podium finishes this season.
Gasly started his karting career in 2006. After spending three years in his home country France, he moved up to the international level and finished third in the CIK–FIA World Cup in his début year. In 2011, Gasly made his début in single-seaters, taking part in the French F4 Championship 1.6 litre category where he finished third in the championship.
He was crowned Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 champion in 2013 before making a move to Formula Renault 3.5 in 2014. Gasly made his GP2 Series début in 2014 at the Italian Grand Prix by replacing Caterham driver Tom Dillmann who had other racing commitments. Caterham then later announced Gasly would drive for them until the remainder of the season.
The final candidate that Toro Rosso could sign for the 2015 season is British driver Alex Lynn is the eldest of three at 21-years of age. Lynn currently leads the GP3 series championship and needs only one point to clinch the title and win his first championship since 2011 where he won the British Formula Renault Championship.
Lynn began his racing career in karting at the age of eleven and quickly progressed through various junior formulae such as British F3 and European F3. This season in GP3 has seen Lynn achieve three wins, four other podiums and acquiring 185 points in the process.
Only Dean Stoneman stands in his way of achieving the GP3 title with a 47 point gap, with 48 points being available in the final round in Abu Dhabi. If Lynn was to be given the Toro Rosso seat, it would not be a complete surprise as Danill Kvyat was promoted from GP3 to F1 after winning the GP3 title (which Lynn is expected to do).
But you cannot discount Marco Wittmann has an outside shot of getting signed by the Toro Rosso team for next season. He is the current champion of the DTM series and it was announced last week that he will be testing for the team shortly. But Wittmann has signed a new long term deal with BMW in DTM and I believe it is highly unlikely that he will get the seat at Toro Rosso, but it is still possible if he impresses enough during his test session.
Let us not forget that Jean-Eric Vergne may have the slimmest chance of reclaiming back his Toro Rosso seat for next year even after being sacked by the Toro Rosso team to make way for Max Verstappen next season. But in my opinion, for Vergne to go back after the Red Bull Programme and Toro Rosso publically believed he wasn't good enough to stay in the team and the programme would be stupid.
As a result, Vergne over the last few races has driven his heart out and has shown the paddock why he is being considered by a few teams such as Sauber for a race seat next season as his three years experience in the sport would be very handy for the Sauber team or any other team that is showing an interest in him.
But I would fully understand that if Vergne went back to the programme and drove for Toro Rosso next season. But then this poses the question of why did they get rid of Vergne in the first place and would have to publically eat “humble pie†so to speak if he returned to the team.
But ultimately, I do believe Carlos Sainz Jr. will be placed alongside Max Verstappen for 2015 as he will become the first Red Bull junior to win the Formula Renault 3.5 series and is more experienced than Gasly and Lynn in single-seater racing. Not only does this show the talent that Sainz Jr has at his disposal, but he also has the experience of winning a championship behind him that he can bring to the drive.
However, it would not surprise me if Gasly or Lynn got the seat for 2015 as they both have the talent and potential to succeed in Formula One. But there is the slimmest chance that Vergne could be recalled back into the Toro Rosso team and with his experience in the sport alongside a young and promising talent like Verstapppen, this could be a line up that could benefit Toro Rosso.
Toro Rosso quite clearly have a lot of promising drivers at their disposal to choose from and will ultimately pick the best driver line up they believe will help motivate, encourage and push the team to be more competitive in 2015. And they have to choose a driver line up that reflects their objective and they have the utmost belief in.
I seriously do believe that Toro Rosso will choose Carlos Sainz Jr to partner Max Verstappen next year and put their faith into the young guns of the future, but we shall have to wait and see if I am proved right or wrong about the direction that Toro Rosso will take with their drivers next season.
