Toro Rosso

If you were to create the perfect Formula One driver for the 21st century, the final result would most likely resemble Max Verstappen, who's fast becoming a hybrid of two of the finest talents of the modern era, Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen.

The Lewis part you see most days, if not every time the light at the end of the pit lane changes from red to green: blisteringly quick, adventurous, imaginative and brave in wheel-to-wheel combat and able to manipulate his machinery.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6d1FOrXlIyA

The Kimi element, in contrast, is slightly less obvious. 

Although he is much chirpier than Raikkonen, Verstappen possesses the self-assurance and steeliness that over the years has made the Finnish driver a cult hero among F1 enthusiasts, allowing him to be unruffled and unfazed by all around him in the often draining, egotistical bubble of the paddock.

It is an advantageous trait to have in any case, but as the youngest-ever F1 driver competing in his rookie season—when everything he does will be directly linked back to his 17 years—it is perhaps more important than anything he will achieve on the track in 2015.

We have seen it already this season following his run to sixth in qualifying at the Malaysian Grand Prix and his overtaking exploits in China, when the general focus was not quite on what he had achieved but what he had achieved for his age.

The backhanded compliments on the days when Verstappen succeeded meant there was always going to be some kind of furore when he finally made a mistake, but even those around the Dutchman may have been taken aback by the explosion that followed his collision with Romain Grosjean at Sainte Devote in the Monaco Grand Prix.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2icY5k9pByE

In the space of one afternoon, one split-second incident, Verstappen went from being mature beyond his years to being too big for his racing boots—such was the outrage over his first notable error behind the wheel of a Formula One car.

Leading the Mad Max campaign, as you would expect, was Felipe Massa, who told Motorsport.com's Jonathan Noble how the incident showed "experience counts in F1" before explaining that the sight of a teenager involved in such a high-speed, spectacular accident would leave F1 open to ridicule.

On the eve of this weekend's Canadian GP, Grosjean offered his thoughts, telling the gathered press (h/t ESPN F1's Nate Saunders) of his disappointment that Verstappen had failed to apologise for the shunt. 

Massa then returned to the saddle of his high horse in Thursday's FIA press conference, where he insinuated that Verstappen's age was all the more reason for the governing body to hand the Dutchman a five-place grid penalty for the Montreal event. The point was to address any flaws in his discipline before they grow to become a bigger issue, despite Verstappen having no track record of causing on-track incidents.

Verstappen's reaction was priceless as, per the same source, he advised Massa to "review the race from last year," which ended with the Williams driver colliding with the Force India of Sergio Perez on the approach to Turn 1, sparking a mighty crash.

In a situation in which other, lesser young drivers would perhaps let their heads drop and waffle about how a crash of that magnitude was a "learning experience," Verstappen's engagement in verbal conflict with Massa, whose post-racing life will surely include a high-visibility jacket, was refreshing.

And following his comments to Red Bull's Greg Stuart last year about mental strength—"To be honest, I find it a bit bulls--t"—it was the latest indication that thankfully, like Kimi before him, Verstappen will be completely unmoved by the noise around him.

The true beauty of Verstappen's debut season is to marvel at how quickly a youngster can challenge expectations and conventional wisdom, to watch how he explores and finds his way around such a highly complicated sport, and to observe how he recovers from his inevitable errors and the obstacles standing in his way.

In as hyperbolic a game as F1, in which today's hero is tomorrow's villain, Verstappen's peers were never going to come to accept that reality, yet the bile targeted at the Toro Rosso rookie by experienced drivers—those who endured difficulties of their own yet came through the other side—since Monaco has been wholly unnecessary.

He deserves their guidance, not their criticism.

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Carlos Sainz Jr. shouldn't have been in Formula One this year.

He should have been in exile in the DTM, on the outside looking in. He should have been in the World Endurance Championship, racing alongside his fellow has-beens, or in Formula E, the place where the souls of the ghosts of F1's recent past go to die.

He should have been clinging on to the dream, joining the rat race of GP2, or escaping the bubble entirely by heading to the United States and a life in IndyCar.

Or perhaps he should have been sat at home, taking a year out, contemplating his next move and wondering whether his F1 career was over before it had even begun at the age of just 20.

Of all those taken by surprise by Scuderia Toro Rosso's signing of 16-year-old Max Verstappen in August 2014, few would have been shaken quite as violently as Sainz, who up until that point appeared entitled to displace Jean-Eric Vergne from the team's second seat for 2015.

The leader of the Formula Renault 3.5 championship—a series won by Kevin Magnussen in 2013—Sainz seemed so confident of joining Toro Rosso that he, as the Spaniard told AS (h/t ESPN F1), declined the opportunity to make an early F1 debut with Caterham halfway through last season, under the impression his chance would come sooner than later.

A chance rejected, however, soon became a chance wasted, and Verstappen's sudden elevation to partner Daniil Kvyat left Sainz—just like Antonio Felix da Costa the previous year—marginalised, at a dead end, going nowhere.

And it would have remained that way had Sebastian Vettel chosen to stick it out at Red Bull Racing and risen to the challenge set by Daniel Ricciardo for 2015, rather than seeking a new one at Ferrari. This would have consequently forced Kvyat to spend another year at Toro Rosso, providing an accurate indication of just how refined Verstappen is for his tender age.

It is worth remembering just how close Sainz came to missing out on an F1 career following a Spanish Grand Prix where the Madrid-born driver, after quietly impressing in the opening four events of the season, confirmed his status as a future star.

Sainz's run to fifth in qualifying was considered the highlight of the Spaniard's first grand prix on home soil—according to the official F1 website, he was 0.113 seconds faster than Verstappen and 0.493 seconds clear of the next-fastest Renault-powered car of Kvyat—but it was in the race where he was arguably more impressive.

And it was where those fighting qualities—the spirit that allowed him to claim the Formula Renault crown in spite of the initial Red Bull knock-back, that has seen him match Verstappen despite Red Bull advisor, Helmut Marko, comparing the teenager to Ayrton Senna, as per the official F1 website—shone through.

After a dismal getaway from the clean side of the grid—as well as suffering poor traction, Sainz was slow to change gear and hit the rev limiter, as Martin Brundle noted during Sky Sports' television coverage of the race—the Spaniard was punted down to seventh place by the second lap, which became 11th by the start of Lap 7.

Although Sainz had told FOX Sports' Adam Cooper after qualifying how difficult it would be to maintain fifth place in the race due to the STR10 car's preference for low-fuel conditions (not to mention its high-downforce setup), the speed he had fallen down the order at such an early stage presented a psychological challenge.

But rather than letting his head drop, as many drivers would, or allowing himself to be overcome by "rookie syndrome," the term McLaren racing director Eric Boullier has previously used to describe youngsters' struggles to adjust to F1 (according to Autosport's Ben Anderson), Sainz fought back.

According to Toro Rosso's official website, the 28 laps he spent caressing the hard tyres between Laps 14 and 42 was the longest any driver spent on the orange-striped compound—four laps longer than his team-mate—which was no mean feat considering Sainz's generally ragged driving style.

This allowed him to spend as little time as possible on a set of used medium tyres for the final stint, keeping them alive for longer at a stage of the race when the fuel load was decreasing, bringing the STR10 into its prime operating window.

Despite a slow final pit stop, it laid the foundations for Sainz's late charge up the order, with the Spaniard symbolically overtaking Verstappen and Kvyat, both of whom were on hard tyres, within the last four laps.

Although the latter move was scrutinised by the stewards due to Sainz running off the track to seal the pass, the fact that Kvyat locked up under braking and slid into the Toro Rosso meant the Spaniard had no option but to take avoiding action, which no doubt contributed to the Spaniard's retention of ninth place.

It was the only possible result after a weekend of exceeded expectations, which more than vindicated Toro Rosso's decision to offer Sainz a reprieve at the end of last season.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BW64-b6hnJg

Over that period, senior figures at both Red Bull and Toro Rosso—see Dietrich Mateschitz's admission to Speed Week (h/t motorsport.com) and STR team principal Franz Tost's comments to Sky Sports' Pete Gill—had revealed their preference to persevere with Vergne, casting Sainz into the shadows.

But after the Spanish race, Marko, so often viewed as a villain for his unflinching, shameless support of Vettel, explained that he was the man who persuaded the Red Bull hierarchy to gamble on Sainz, telling Kleine Zeitung (h/t motorsport.com): "I fought hard for Sainz. He did not have a lot of friends or supporters, but I'm used to that."

Alonso on Sainz: "I feel proud seeing Carlos here. The talent is unquestionable. Everyone in #F1 is surprised but I'm not. He's the future"

— Formula 1 (@F1) May 7, 2015

Sainz will certainly have plenty more friends after his Spanish GP performance, and on a weekend when the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya grandstands were visibly emptier than in years gone by—possibly as a direct consequence of Fernando Alonso's fall from grace—his fanbase will only continue to grow. 

Spain has a new grand prix hero, but Sainz is the star Formula One very nearly didn't have.

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Max Verstappen has thanked his race engineer, Xevi Pujolar, for helping him become the youngest-ever points scorer in Formula One history.

The 17-year-old finished seventh in the Malaysian Grand Prix on Sunday, collecting six points for Toro Rosso in only his second race.

F1's youngest points scorers

	Driver	Age	Season Set
1	Max Verstappen	17 years, 180 days	2015
2	Daniil Kyvat	19 years, 180 days	2014
3	Sebastian Vettel	19 years, 234 days	2007
4	Jaime Alguersuari	20 years, 12 days	2010
5	Jenson Button	20 years, 67 days	2000

At 17 years, five months and 27 days, he’s comfortably the youngest driver to collect points in the sport, but the humble teenager took to Twitter to praise his colleague Pujolar for his role in the achievement.

Great day for the team aswell. Special thanks to my race engineer @xevipujolar for advising me at the right time on track 👌 #F1 #teamwork

— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) March 29, 2015

What a race! Really happy to finish 7th :). And the best 'bull' too. Had some great fights with the… https://t.co/HFIiEtMGcz

— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) March 29, 2015

Former Williams chief engineer Pujolar, who joined Toro Rosso before the 2014 season, also used the social media website to congratulate Verstappen.

Very pleased to see @Max33Verstappen scoring his #F1 points! Excellent Performance in all conditions. #PureRacer #Sepang Really enjoyed it!

— Xevi Pujolar (@xevipujolar) March 29, 2015

It topped an excellent weekend for Toro Rosso, who outperformed their senior team, Red Bull, on both fronts, with Carlos Sainz finishing just behind Verstappen in eighth place.

The Red Bulls of Daniil Kvyat and Daniel Ricciardo finished ninth and 10th respectively, and Verstappen suggested the battle between the teams was “good fun."

In his post-race interview, the Dutchman revealed a switch to the Hard tyre compound early in the race allowed him to flourish, again citing team-work for the result.

“The first few laps were a bit tricky for me as I was struggling a lot on the Medium tyres, so we boxed early for the Hard ones and that worked perfectly, the car felt great,” said Verstappen, per ESPN.

“This was the right strategy and we did a great job managing the tyres.”

The season continues in China in two weeks’ time at the Shanghai International Circuit, where Toro Rosso scored one point last season courtesy of Kvyat, whom Verstappen replaces as the youngest-ever points scorer.

For all the problems facing Formula One at the moment—and there are, as we're so often reminded, plenty—there is nothing a drop of rain cannot solve.

Despite the introduction of several gimmicks in recent years such as DRS and fast-degrading tyres—introduced to provide close competition and create a worthwhile, satisfying spectacle—wet conditions remain F1's ultimate equaliser.

The formation of dark clouds over a circuit—the one variable in this sport of unrelenting diligence and rigorous analysis—can flip sessions, either qualifying or racing, upside down.

For front-runners, the prospect of losing their advantage to something outside of their control is almost unbearable.

A tyre strategy, carved in stone during the previous evening's debrief, suddenly becomes subject to change.

As it emerges as the decisive factor of the race, engineers and drivers alike are forced to live on their instincts, endlessly adapting to the altering conditions and making prompt, pressurised decisions that could result in a weekend's work turning to nothing.

With the threat of a poorly timed safety car period, a dodgy pit stop and an off-track excursion always lingering in the air, there is nothing to be gained for leading teams and drivers when the rain comes down. 

A storm, for them, is something to be weathered.

The big teams' hazard, though, is the minnows' opportunity. Unlikely to achieve meaningful success on dry tyres in bright sunshine, the fitting of intermediate or full-wet rubber only serves to widen their eyes.

Small teams smell the blood that could be spilled by the works manufacturers and make it their mission to taste at least some of it before the chequered flag falls.

Suddenly it is their drivers taking the gambles, taking the initiative and taking their chances with aplomb.

Given the contrasting approaches and reversed roles of the large and small teams in wet conditions, it is unsurprising that rainy race weekends tend to produce the most memorable, unpredictable on-track action and quite often herald the rise of remarkable talents.

Take a look through the history of Formula One and you realise that many of the most successful drivers to ever grace the sport first came to prominence on days when the track was greasy and the skies gloomy.

Four-time world champion Alain Prost, for example, claimed his first race victory in the wet at Dijon in 1981, while Ayrton Senna, driving for Toleman in just his sixth grand prix, harried the Frenchman's McLaren for the win at Monaco three years later.

Seven-time title winner Michael Schumacher, meanwhile, took the first of his 91 victories for a Benetton team who hadn't triumphed for over a year at Spa in 1992 and, most recently, Sebastian Vettel took pole position en route to winning the 2008 Italian Grand Prix for Scuderia Toro Rosso.

Each of these forces of nature, all within two years of making their F1 debuts, sensed their opportunities and snatched them with both hands, disregarding the vices of their cars to announce their arrivals in the sport and ensure their names wouldn't be forgotten anytime soon.

And it was for Vettel's former Toro Rosso colleagues that Max Verstappen lived up to the hype and emulated some of the most famous names in F1 in just his second race weekend at the Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang, a circuit the Dutchman had never driven before.

Likened to Senna—arguably the greatest driver F1 has ever seen—by Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko in an official F1 website interview last year, Verstappen showed impressive levels of calm for a 17-year-old during the rush that was Q2.

As a torrential downpour just started to hit the track, there was an intense burden on the drivers to post a fast lap at the beginning of the session, with the intensity of the rain making it impossible for them to improve their initial times.

Despite his tender age and lack of experience, Verstappen was immediately on the pace when it mattered.

He set a time of one minute, 41.430 seconds, which was good enough for seventh and, as per the official F1 website, 0.7 seconds quicker than 11th-placed Kimi Raikkonen, the 2007 world champion who despite driving the second-fastest car on the current grid couldn't make it into Q3 for Ferrari.

Verstappen's pace and confidence in the wet was reinforced in the first runs of Q3 when he went third-fastest behind the Mercedes' of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg with a time of 1:52.896, a lap that was 0.3 seconds quicker than Vettel according to the FIA television feed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pch2n-cvzdQ

Admittedly, though, the youngster did have the benefit of being the last of a number of cars to cross the line, meaning he would have had the advantage of a slightly drier track in comparison to his peers.

As the track continued to dry in the latter stages of Q3, the inevitably of quicker cars setting quicker times ultimately demoted Verstappen down to sixth.

Max Verstappen, still only 17, qualifies 6th for the #MalaysiaGP. Best qualifying result for a teenager in 54 years! pic.twitter.com/qg6Bm4nCy5

— B/R Football (@brfootball) March 28, 2015

Yet the fact he still ended the session, as per Formula1.com, just 0.030 seconds down on his Toro Rosso predecessor, Daniil Kvyat—driving the similarly powered but aerodynamically superior Red Bull RB11—and 0.5 seconds clear of the Mercedes-powered Williams of Felipe Massa confirmed the quality of the Dutchman's performance.

How Verstappen handles the Malaysian race, the most challenging on the calendar in terms of fitness—the drivers, as per F1 journalist James Allen, can lose "around three litres of body fluid in sweat"—will offer further clues over just how refined a performer the boy wonder is.

But having not only rode but attacked Saturday's storm at Sepang, reveling in the underdog role, it is now clear that Verstappen is on course for great things.

And should he fulfill his vast potential, Malaysia 2015 could soon come to be remembered as fondly as Monaco '84 and Monza '08. He really is that good.

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"Kids, isn't it?" Mark Webber told ITV's television coverage of the 2007 Japanese Grand Prix after being punted out of the race by Sebastian Vettel, the Toro Rosso driver in his first full season of Formula One.

"Kids with not enough experience, (they) do a good job and then they f--k it all up."

The interview may have been ended abruptly as the Australian—denied the chance to take his maiden grand prix win through no fault of his own—stormed away, but Webber's words have lived long in the memory.

Sparring partners at Red Bull Racing for five seasons between 2009 and 2013, Vettel and Webber came to blows on several occasions—most notable, of course, was their collision at the 2010 Turkish Grand Prix and the team orders row at Malaysia 2013—and youth, very often, had the edge over experience.

Vettel, the youngest-ever grand prix winner in history by the time he arrived at Red Bull, claimed the team's first win and went on to become the youngest-ever four-time world champion in just four years while Webber, for all his experience, was reduced to a mere support role until his retirement at the end of 2013.

And since Webber walked away from the sport, that quote has taken on a wider significance as the kids have taken over to the point where, little more than seven years after he fumed at a rainy Fuji Speedway, his words now feel as if they belong in a distant, bygone era of F1.

The emergence of mid-20-somethings Daniel Ricciardo, Webber's replacement at Red Bull, and Valtteri Bottas, in just his second season, as potential world champions in 2014 was complemented by the rise of Daniil Kvyat, who at 19 broke Vettel's record as the youngest-ever point-scorer in just his first grand prix and went on to replace the German at Red Bull for this year.

Yet the most significant development came at Toro Rosso, where Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz Jr. were signed to create the youngest driver lineup on the grid with a combined age of 37, Webber's age when he completed his last lap behind the wheel of an F1 car.

https://twitter.com/ByTheMinF1/status/574582028223582209

Muchas gracias @alo_oficial por tu apoyo todos estos años, quien me lo iba a decir a mi en esa foto eh? pic.twitter.com/6cuU7PgrKu

— Carlos Sainz (@Carlossainz55) November 28, 2014

The move to sign drivers of such youth—even by the standards of Toro Rosso, this training ground for junior racers—sent ripples through the paddock, but in 17-year-old Verstappen, the team have someone who could revolutionise the way we view young drivers and signal the end of the days of 30-year-old, first-time world champions.

It is difficult to remember a more hotly anticipated debut than that of the Dutchman, son of former F1 driver Jos, who will become the youngest driver to start a race by some margin in the upcoming Australian Grand Prix in just his second season of car racing.

Despite finishing a relatively distant third in last year's European Formula Three championship, 67 points behind title winner and fellow rookie Esteban Ocon, Verstappen's 10 wins—including a run of six consecutive victories over the course of the Spa and Norisring rounds—marked him down as a future star.

But the results, particularly for someone so young, are secondary to his application when it comes to judging the real potential of Verstappen, who impressed in a handful of practice sessions for Toro Rosso toward the end of 2014.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6d1FOrXlIyA

And that is an area in which he excels, with Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko comparing the Dutchman—"an exceptional talent that comes along only once in decades"—to Ayrton Senna, the three-time world champion and arguably the greatest driver the sport has ever seen, in a Formula1.com interview last year.

Meanwhile, Verstappen's race engineer, Xevi Pujolar—a former colleague of Webber, Juan Pablo Montoya and Eddie Irvine—told GPUpdate.net in pre-season that the 17-year-old is "the best" driver he's worked with, paying tribute to the youngster's professionalism, discipline and focus.

First time I've watched @Max33Verstappen on track - seriously impressive. Looks confident and comfortable on track lap after lap.

— Karun Chandhok (@karunchandhok) February 27, 2015

With Verstappen receiving such rave reviews before he's even started a grand prix, you might wonder why Sainz Jr. should even bother turning up in 2015.

Indeed, Toro Rosso's decision to sign Verstappen last August, when it seemed for all the world that Sainz Jr. was next in line to replace Jean-Eric Vergne, suggests the team were not entirely convinced by the Spaniard's qualities, although Sainz Jr. later denied this to Autosport's Pablo Elizalde and Matt Beer.

And with good reason, for the son of rally legend Carlos Sainz will be hoping to prove that experience still counts for something at the tender age of 20.

Sainz Jr. may not be subjected to as much hype as his team-mate, but he enters his first F1 campaign as a champion after emulating Kevin Magnussen, the McLaren reserve driver, by winning the Formula Renault 3.5 series with DAMS in 2014.

His seven victories, according to Autosport magazine's Glenn Freeman and Marcus Simmons, was a series record for wins in a single season, with his seven pole positions and six fastest laps confirming his outright pace.

Sainz Jr.'s strength of character to rebound from the initial knockback from Toro Rosso—effectively sealing the FR 3.5 crown with two wins at the penultimate round at Paul Ricard—should also be a source of confidence heading into what should be a testing year alongside Verstappen.

Such is the team's track record in ruthlessly ditching drivers that questions are bound to be asked about the Spaniard's future should Verstappen string together a sequence of strong finishes or somehow manage to claim that one momentous result. 

It is something that, rightly or wrongly, simply won't happen to the teenager on the other side of the garage, and Sainz Jr. should prepare to fight for his career for the second year running.

Although Toro Rosso's employment of two drivers without a single F1 start between them could be considered a weakness, the presence of two raw yet extremely talented youngsters should return a sense of purpose to a team who in recent years have perhaps been too content with existing as a Red Bull B team.

As close as the battle between the pair could be, it is difficult to look beyond Verstappen as far as inter-team supremacy is concerned.

The kid might not have enough experience, but he's more than capable of doing a good job. And what's more, he'll get better and better as the season goes on.

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What a difference a year makes.

Tuesday marked 12 months since Scuderia Toro Rosso announced the signing of somebody called Daniil Kvyat to replace Daniel Ricciardo, who was on his way to world champions Red Bull to succeed Mark Webber, from the 2014 Formula One season.

Toro Rosso's statement last October was a bolt out of the blue to those who had long expected Antonio Felix da Costa, the highly rated Portuguese driver, to partner Jean-Eric Vergne for this season, with Kvyat barely registering on anyone's consciousness despite marching his way towards the GP3 title, a series previously won by Valtteri Bottas and Esteban Gutierrez.

Not only was he considered a long shot for a Toro Rosso drive, he wasn't even the most famous Russian teenager targeting an F1 career with Sergey Sirotkin, as reported by ESPN F1 at the time, getting miles under his belt in preparation for a potential race debut with Sauber.

Now, however, it is safe to say that the entire F1 community knows who Kvyat is—and his profile will only continue to grow.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiBlH5EKXrs

It took just 14 grand prix appearances for Red Bull to decide that the gangling 20-year-old represented their future.

The Milton Keynes-based outfit showed no hesitation in promoting Kvyat to replace Sebastian Vettel for 2015, confirming the Russian's rise over the Japanese Grand Prix weekend in the exact statement which contained the news of the four-time world champion's departure from the team at the end of the season.

Red Bull could have moved for Fernando Alonso—who, according to Sky Sports' James Galloway, had negotiated his release from Ferrari just days earlier—but team principal Christian Horner told Sky Sports that the Spaniard was never an option. 

They could have made an effort to lure Lewis Hamilton—who is likely to take the world championship from Vettel's grasp over the next month or so—from Mercedes but, again, this was a no-goer.

Daniil Kvyat. Has anyone so young, so quickly gone into a top team with a chance of a win? GP3 to Red Bull works car in 18 months.

— Toby Moody 🎙 (@TobyMoody) October 4, 2014

Instead—for the second time in a year—they placed immense faith, trust and confidence in Kvyat, a reflection of their dedication to producing homegrown talent and an indication of just how much they rate the latest cab to come off the rank of their celebrated Young Driver Team. 

Just as Vettel identified the end of this season as the right moment to leave Red Bull, Kvyat will arrive at the ideal time for a new kid on the block, with the outfit beginning a new era as Adrian Newey, the chief technical officer, and Guillaume Rocquelin, who would have been the Russian's new race engineer, adopting new roles.

A team in transition, presumably, would allow the 20-year-old time to adjust to life at a world championship-winning outfit—but who's to say he will not be instantly on the pace?

The almost immediate success achieved by Vettel and Ricciardo, the only drivers to climb to the very top of the Red Bull tower prior to Kvyat, has set the standard for the next wave of graduates.

And considering that his career thus far has followed a similar trajectory to that of the German, Kvyat may find himself in the unusual position of being compared to the man who went before, rather than the driver sitting on the opposite side of the garage, in 2015.

Like Vettel, Kvyat was 19 years of age when he participated in his first grand prix, becoming the youngest-ever points scorer in the sport's history at the end of his debut race.

And—perhaps more intriguingly—Vettel, too, secured a promotion to Red Bull after just one full season at Toro Rosso. 

Despite winning for Red Bull in just his third race for the outfit, the 2009 Chinese Grand Prix, it was not until the latter stages of the 2010 campaign—or even the beginning of 2011, his third full season at the team—that the German began to possess the aura of a formidable, error-free competitor.

His first four races of 2008, after all, all ended in retirement, and clumsy spins and losses of control—despite taking his breakthrough win at Monza that year—continued to plague his performances until the day he became world champion for the first time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xi-86Uptjco

Kvyat, in contrast, is arguably more polished at this stage of his career than Vettel was, with each of his four retirements in 2014—in Monaco, Canada, Austria and Germany—due to the reliability issues suffered by his car rather than the consequences of human error.

The most notable misdemeanour of his rookie campaign, in fact—a tangle with Alonso in the qualifying session for the Malaysian Grand Prix—was a 50-50 incident, highlighting his general cleanliness behind the wheel in comparison to other first-timers in recent seasons. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2p6A2sgB2ng

Although Kvyat, with a best finish of ninth, has not secured a name-in-lights result on a par with Vettel's 2008 Italian Grand Prix win, the Russian has provided hints of his talent.

He out-qualified Vergne, as per the official F1 website, by six tenths in Q2 to on his way to seventh in Austria—an event where Renault-powered cars, on paper, should have been severely disadvantaged—and started from a career-best fifth at his home race with a lap that was, according to Formula1.com, almost eight tenths quicker than the Frenchman's Q3 effort.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_024ib59z1s

Just how Kvyat will measure alongside Ricciardo next year, however, is difficult to predict.

The logical path would be for the Russian to spend around half a season just getting used to a new environment and the step up in class, yet the same was said of the Australian as he prepared to partner Vettel less than a year ago. 

Changes behind the scenes at Red Bull and the absence of Vettel, the focal point for the last six seasons, should ensure that Ricciardo—despite his excellent 2014—and Kvyat will begin next season with relatively equal status, and you wouldn't bet against the straightforward, blunt and raw racer from claiming the upper hand.

Red Bull's driver line-up may look a little less fashionable in 2015, but it'll have just as much firepower.

Even the most heartless souls in the Formula One paddock must currently feel a degree of sympathy for Jean-Eric Vergne.

Last month, Scuderia Toro Rosso, his team of almost three years, became the first outfit to announce their line-up for the 2015 campaign, featuring the most predictable driver change of what has grown to be known as the "silly season."

Our 2015 Driver Line up: @Dany_Kvyat and @MaxVerstappen3. We want to thank @JeanEricVergne for all his hard work. pic.twitter.com/ZtopIAv6RW

— Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team (@visacashapprb) August 18, 2014

Vergne's place at Toro Rosso, it was confirmed, would be taken by Max Verstappen, the highly rated 16-year-old, who is set to become the youngest competitor in the history of the sport when he lines up on the grid, aged 17, at next year's Australian Grand Prix.

Every new beginning is an old ending, and while Verstappen has spent the last few weeks goofing around in ageing F1 machinery—crashing during a street demo in Rotterdam, the Netherlands—all in the name of preparation for his debut, Vergne has had to attend to the more serious matter of trying to rescue his F1 career.

To stand any chance of doing that, the Frenchman—since the Belgian Grand Prix, the first event since Toro Rosso announced their 2015 plans—has had to drive like he has never driven before and, in doing so, catch the eyes of team principals and the wider world in the same way that, for instance, Nico Hulkenberg has done since 2012.

In short, he needed to force teams to run out of reasons not to sign him.

And after two rather anonymous results in Belgium and Italy, Vergne took the first major step toward salvation with what Toro Rosso's official website described as "one of the best drives of his Formula 1 career" in the Singapore Grand Prix.

6th! It feels great. It was a fantastic race and I'm extremely happy, especially considering the two 5 second penalties. #SingaporeGP

— Jean-Eric Vergne (@JeanEricVergne) September 21, 2014

The nature of the 24-year-old's performance at the Singapore Grand Prix was remarkably similar to the Monaco Grand Prix display of Jules Bianchi, his compatriot, who was hurriedly ordained as a Ferrari world champion in waiting after taking two points with a ninth-place finish at the principality.

Like Bianchi in Monaco, Vergne—particularly in the dying stages of the race—produced a battling performance by taking his car to a position that it arguably had no right to be in, sixth place, with even a couple of penalties failing to halt his progress.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WESwG_hCht4

The two penalties handed to Vergne, for exceeding track limits when passing first Kimi Raikkonen and then Pastor Maldonado, were perhaps consequences of his desperation to impress—but the way in which he handled the setbacks, particularly the latter, was most impressive for a driver who is one of the more emotionally charged competitors on the current grid.

Having being given a five-second time penalty by the FIA race stewards on Lap 57 of what turned out to be just 60—the extended safety car period meant the distance was shortened by one lap—Vergne, running in ninth at the time, had a job on his hands to even register a point with Valtteri Bottas, on old tyres, creating something of a road block up the road, containing Kimi Raikkonen and Hulkenberg.

When he waltzed up to the rear of the pack, however, Vergne simply and calmly picked them off one by one, passing the Force India, the Ferrari and the Williams over the course of just 18 corners between the 59th and final laps.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYkyw1n4MzE

It was a glorious example of a driver with absolutely no time to waste, with Vergne completing his move on the Mercedes-powered Hulkenberg by edging the Force India towards the wall on the exit of Turn 14 and therefore preventing any potential counter-attack.

His pass on Raikkonen into the tricky Turn 1, meanwhile, was a showcase of bravery and opportunism, while his decisive manoeuvre on Bottas just eight bends later was arguably the move of the entire grand prix, with the Frenchman effectively mugging the Finn of sixth position by lunging down the inside of Turn 9.

From that point, it was about fleeing the scene before Bottas' tyres tumbled off the cliff for Vergne, who cemented his position by setting a 1m54.330s on Lap 60, a time only bettered by race winner Lewis Hamilton on that particular lap, according to the FIA's race lap analysis. 

Vergne needn't have worried, however, with Sergio Perez, the seventh-placed driver, finishing 2.2 seconds behind the Toro Rosso despite that five-second penalty, as per the official F1 website.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loWggHbIKFY

Soon after the chequered flag, it was reported by Sky Sports' Ted Kravitz that Sauber, one of only two teams who are yet to score a point this season, would be willing to offer Vergne—who, according to Autosport's Gary Watkins, is in contention for a Nissan seat in the World Endurance Championship—a Formula One lifeline, provided that the Frenchman can offer a budget.

And although it remains to be seen whether Vergne would be able to stand on his own two feet from a budget perspective when he is released into the wild by Red Bull at the end of the year—a real concern when you consider his rather modest, understated profile—he would be an ideal signing for a lower mid-grid or backmarker outfit for 2015.

Toro Rosso is a good school. I learnt a lot. Now focussed on a great end of season. I'm already working for 2015. Still a lot to show in F1

— Jean-Eric Vergne (@JeanEricVergne) August 19, 2014

The Frenchman often excels—due to his excellent levels of car control—in low-grip conditions, including wet races and events held on street circuits, which are precisely the kind of scenarios in which, in their current guise, Sauber—as well as Marussia, Caterham and even Lotus—can dare to dream of scoring points.

Whether Vergne himself would entertain what would almost certainly be a backward step is another matter entirely, although the prospect of being the central focus of a team, in contrast to the pressurised atmosphere that Toro Rosso can sometimes possess, would undoubtedly raise his confidence as well as aid his development as a Formula One driver.

Although Toro Rosso's signing of the teenage Verstappen appeared to signal the end of Vergne's F1 career, his performance in the Singapore Grand Prix has proven that there's plenty of life in the old dog yet.

Jean-Eric Vergne's Formula One future hangs by a thread.

After three seasons at Red Bull's sister team, Toro Rosso, Vergne is being replaced for 2015 by Max Verstappen.

The Frenchman has been with Red Bull since 2007, and with no seat available at the main team it looks like the relationship will come to an end.

He has less than six months to find a new drive and salvage his F1 career.

Vergne has been active in single-seater competition since 2007. That year, he won the entry-level Formula Renault Campus France title with six wins from 13 races, and he was invited to join the Red Bull Junior Team.

He moved up to Formula Renault 2.0 in 2008, coming sixth in the Eurocup standings and fourth in the Western European series. The following year he was second in both championships, beaten to the titles by Albert Costa.

Still with Red Bull backing, Vergne switched to the British Formula Three championship for 2010. Following in the footsteps of future team-mate Daniel Ricciardo, he won the title at the first time of asking with 13 wins from 30 races.

It was an impressive display against a strong field. Vergne also drove six races in Formula Renault 3.5, winning once and scoring three further podiums.

A full year in the series followed in 2011. After a season-long duel, Vergne was pipped to the title by his more experienced team-mate, Robert Wickens.

He had timed his arrival at the F1 door just right—Toro Rosso were ready to clear out their existing drivers, and Vergne took one of their seats.

Paired with Ricciardo, Vergne's major weakness soon became apparent—qualifying.

He was beaten 15 times on Saturdays by Ricciardo, only coming out on top on five occasions.

But for all his qualifying difficulties, Vergne proved a more than capable racer, out-scoring the admittedly more consistent Ricciardo by 16 points to 10.

The qualifying tale continued in 2013—Ricciardo won the battle 15-4 with an average grid slot of 10.68. Vergne's average was a disappointing 13.63. per F1Fanatic.

This time, the poor starting positions hampered Vergne more. Though the Frenchman usually had good pace and more often than not made decent gains from his grid slots, Ricciardo scored on seven occasions, while Vergne managed just three top-10 finishes.

The Australian's superior single-lap pace and marginally better consistency was probably what prompted Red Bull to promote him to the senior team ahead of Vergne.

JEV was retained at Toro Rosso for a third season, where he'd race alongside Russian rookie Daniil Kvyat.

Twelve rounds in to the current season, the pair seem quite evenly matched. It's 6-6 in qualifying, and while Kvyat has led a few more laps (231 to 228), Vergne has 11 points to his team-mate's eight.

By the end of 2014, Vergne will have spent three seasons at Toro Rosso—a total of 58 grands prix. At any other constructor, that wouldn't be a substantial number.

But Toro Rosso are not an ordinary team.

They don't exist to score maximum points for themselves, or to finish as high in the constructors' championship as they can.

Their sole reason for being is to act as a proving ground for young, up-and-coming talent from the Red Bull Junior Team—then to pass them on if they seem to have true superstar potential.

Those that don't are replaced.

Vitantonio Liuzzi, Scott Speed, Sebastian Vettel, Jaime Alguersuari, Sebastien Buemi and Daniel Ricciardo all passed through Toro Rosso on their way to whatever lay in their future.

Two of them—Vettel and Ricciardo—did enough there to progress to the main Red Bull team. Both are now established among the lucky few drivers able to sell themselves on talent alone.

Their place in F1, next season and beyond, is assured.

But those who don't make the grade, and who don't get the promotion, tend to suffer a very different fate. Their long-standing relationship with Red Bull and its associated companies leaves them little chance to form connections with other potential sponsors.

That's a huge problem in today's F1. In modern times, all but the very top drivers are expected to at least bring a couple of minor backers.

One or two logos and a few million pounds is the minimum, and the more you have the higher your chance of landing a decent drive.

But with the Red Bull rug pulled out from under them, former Toro Rosso drivers don't have any. Pitted against a legion of drivers with both talent and sponsors, they almost always vanish from the grid, never to return.

That happened to Speed, Alguersuari and Buemi.

Only Liuzzi endured, but he left way back in 2007 when money was more plentiful and pay drivers less powerful. 

The Italian drove for the fledgling Force India, then HRT, before he too was kicked to the kerb as F1's financial crisis deepened in 2012.

That crisis is even deeper today.

Vergne is definitely good enough to remain in F1. His performances against Ricciardo in 2012 and 2013 have to be seen in a very positive light given the way the Australian has seized the upper hand on Vettel this year.

But fellow Red Bull reject Alguersuari was also good enough to stay on the grid. So were Paul di Resta, Heikki Kovalainen and Kamui Kobayashi.

And all lost their places because they didn't have sufficient backing. Kobayashi raised funds to buy his way back in, but he appears to have run out of funds and is edging ever closer to a second, probably final, exit.

The Red Bull Junior Team and Toro Rosso do great things for young drivers by giving them an opportunity.

But for those drivers who don't quite make it to the Red Bull senior team—either through lack of brilliance or lack of space—it can be a curse.

They have nothing to fall back on when the Red Bull rug is pulled away.

Vergne deserves to be in F1 next year. There's little to suggest he's got the potential to be a world beater, but he could certainly do a solid job in the manner of Felipe Massa, Mark Webber or David Coulthard.

But unless he can attract a decent sponsor to a midfield team—like Massa did for 2014—he almost certainly won't be around when the 2015 season kicks off in Australia next March.

Esteban Gutierrez, Pastor Maldonado and Max Chilton will be there instead.

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