Horner: Plenty of driver options for 2014

Christian Horner has said that Red Bull are in no rush to confirm who will be partnering Sebastian Vettel at the team next season, believing that they have “no shortage of choice” when it comes to finding a driver.

After the multi 21 fiasco unravelled at the Malaysian Grand Prix, Webber appears to be on his way out of the team. His destination, be it another Formula One team or a different racing series altogether, is unknown, but Horner’s comments suggest that the team is not yet ready to consider candidates his seat.

“It is much too early thinking about drivers for next year,” Horner explained to the official Formula One website. “Sebastian is clear – and everything else will fall into place towards the end of the summer. There is no pre-conception.”

Horner has also said that Sebastian Vettel will not have a great influence on who his teammate will be, despite the inter-team rivalry causing this chain of events.

“He is going to do the best job for himself. And to say, ‘this one, yes’ and, ‘this one, no’ was never Sebastian’s style, to dictate, ‘I must have this or that’. He is a sporting guy and has never pressured the team into doing things for his own benefit.”

Scuderia Toro Rosso entered the sport in 2006 as a feeder team to Red Bull, but Vettel is the only driver to have made the jump between the teams. With Jean-Eric Vergne and Daniel Ricciardo both impressing lately, many believe that one of them could join Vettel, but Horner will only be looking for the best driver available, regardless of what team they drive for.

“Our objectives are very simple: we want the best two drivers in our cars. If they come from Toro Rosso, fantastic as they develop nicely. But we always push to have the best two drivers available.

“There is no shortage of choice.”

The race for the second seat at Red Bull certainly appears to be hotting up. Nico Hulkenberg, who many believed was the natural choice, has endured a poor start to the season, whilst the departure of James Allison from Lotus has sparked rumors that Kimi Raikkonen could make the move. Going by Horner’s comments though, we will not know the identity of Sebastian Vettel’s teammate until the summer at the very earliest.