Race for Red Bull’s F1 seats hots up

As Daniel Ricciardo admits there is a chance he could make his F1 debut in 2011, Sebastien Buemi insists he is not losing sleep.

"Compared to my teammate I’ve never done badly," Swiss Buemi, referring to Jaime Alguersuari, is quoted as saying by the British newspaper The Sun.

The pair have both been told to up their game in order to keep their seats at Toro Rosso this year, but rumours suggest it is 22-year-old Buemi who is first in the firing line.

Australian Ricciardo now appears in the Ferrari-powered STR6 each Friday morning at grands prix, with Buemi well aware of his presence.

"Red Bull gives young drivers a chance to get into F1, so you always know that besides you there are other guys that try to show their abilities and aim to drive for the team.

"If you give up, it’s over for you," said Buemi.

Ricciardo, 21, was asked by motorline.cc about the rumours a race seat could open up before the end of this season.

"That would be great," he admitted, "but my focus is on the Formula Renault 3.5, and for the rest we will see.

"I want a fixed place in formula one in 2012," the Australian clarified.

Another young Red Bull-backed charger close to his F1 debut is Frenchman Jean-Eric Vergne, who denied the next step for him after 2011 is a season in GP2.

"Definitely not," he insisted. "I want to do a good job in Formula Renault 3.5 this year and have an F1 cockpit for 2012. At the moment, for me, that’s the only goal."

Another way for Buemi and Alguersuari to look at the situation is that if Ricciardo does arrive at Toro Rosso in 2012, and Mark Webber moves on, they might be staring at the vacancy at Red Bull’s senior team.

"From my point of view I know that if I do my maximum and get important results, then my value can increase and I can have a chance," Buemi said.

"I focus on this. The rest is just gossip."