This websites overwhelming influence over all things F1 was proven today when it became clear that Jarno Trulli just hours after being named by this very website as ‘the worst driver in F1 for 2011‘ looks despite having a contract and being announced on the the official entry list for 2012 to be replaced by Daniel Ricciardo at Team Caterham.
Ricciardo told the West Australian newspaper, : “At the moment it seems like Toro Rosso are going to stay with who they’ve got. “It wasn’t put down 100 per cent, but it was the wording I was making out. There’s a good chance if I’m on the grid next year it’s going to be with another non-Red Bull outfit, but I guess the good news is I’m still contracted by Red Bull. They’ve agreed to continue with me.”
When asked specifically about the Caterham rumors, Ricciardo added: “I would like to say there’s a chance, but at least for me that’s probably all it is for now, just a chance.
“It would be a step up from this year, so it’s not really a bad thing. I doubt they’ll still be able to fight for points next year. They’ll still be towards the further end, but I think they’re progressing well.
“If (Heikki) Kovalainen was to be my team-mate, it’s someone very good to measure up to. He’s won a grand prix before and he’s smashed Trulli this year.”
Ricciardo spent the second half of the last season driving at HRT, As part of Red Bulls young driver team he was expected to spend a year at Torro Rosso to be evaluated as a replacement for Mark Webber for 2013. However it appears that Torro Rosso will keep there existing drivers . He fared very well against his team mate Antonio Liuzzi who was a excellent yard stick for his employers to assess him as Liuzzi himself was not only a well established midfield caliber driver but also once a Red Bull prodigy and his abilities are well known to the team.
Caterham who are expected to battle in the midfield next year would be a step of for Ricciardo and in Kovalainen he would have a highly rated team mate as a yard stick. Sebastian Buemi and Jamie Alguersuari are whilst highly rated drivers they are relatively unknown quantities as they have only had each other as team mates since mid 2009 when both drivers were in their rookie season. The scalp of Kovalainen would make it hard for Red Bull to ignore Ricciardo for 2013.
