If you’re Red Bull team principal Christian Horner, you definitely need to think long and hard about your 2016 drivers line-up, because both Toro Rosso rookies are looking lightning quick.
Both Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz Jr are in their first season racing in Formula 1, and so far, it looks like they’re bound to have meaningful careers – based on their current results.
Verstappen is currently 11th in the 2015 drivers standings, with 22 points, just 1 point behind Lotus’ Romain Grosjean and 2 points behind Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg. Sainz is a little bit further back in 16th with just 9 points, but he did score top 10 finishes in four of the opening six races, which suggests consistency.
Naturally, Red Bull has a star of their own in Daniel Ricciardo, so you know he’s not going anywhere, but if Daniil Kvyat doesn’t start showing the type of form he did in Hungary more frequently, Horner might have to think about reshuffling his line-up for 2016 and give either Verstappen or Sainz a Red Bull seat.
Of course, my money would be on Verstappen, but we still have to wait and see how both Toro Rosso drivers do in the final races of the season. You could also say that Kvyat’s fate is in his own hands, which is how it should be.
Horner was recently quoted as saying that both Toro Rosso drivers have “driven very well this year. They’ve been one of the highlights of the season so far, which proves that giving young talent a chance pays off.”
When asked if the duo could make it hard for him to decide on his future line-ups, he said “Very much so.”
Also, remember that Red Bull didn’t have a lot of other options when they decided to call up Kvyat. The young Russian driver finished last season in 15th place with just 8 points. Verstappen has already almost tripled that amount and he’s bound to have a few more good races before the end of the year.
So who’s in favor of seeing Max Verstappen instead of Kvyat in a Red Bull next year?
Story references: Autosport
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