Vettel tipped for RBR switch in 2009

Red Bull protege Sebastian Vettel is likely to switch to the firm`s A-team for next year after impressing the team`s bosses in the first three races of this season.

The 20-year-old has yet to finish a race this year, but his pace so far has contributed to an increasing wave of approval from Red Bull`s senior racing management.

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko admitted that it`s likely Vettel will switch from Scuderia Toro Rosso to Red Bull Racing for the 2009 season.

“I think so, yes,” he told this week`s Autosport. “He`s a special one and he is very developed for his age. He can be very aggressive in the car but he`s also technical and well trained.

“Red Bull has been with him for eight years and we have a contract for another couple of years.”

Toro Rosso team principal Franz Tost praised Vettel`s ability and believes he has the potential to fight for victories next season.

“He is one of the best young drivers so far,” Tost told Autosport. “He`s been racing for 15 years so from the driving side he`s very mature. But he`s also really clever and I think this is a key to his success.

“Sebastian is on a much higher level than many other drivers ­both in and out of the cockpit.

“He knows he can do the job if we provide him with the right car. He has already reached a very high level and it depends which car he will get for next season but he can become a front runner.”

Toro Rosso co-owner Gerhard Berger believes the hype is justified and admitted that Vettel reminds him of Michael Schumacher.

“Michael saw him in karting and felt his potential, and that`s been confirmed,” Berger told Autosport. “In some ways they are similar, the calm, systematic approach, consistently improving throughout the weekend, and delivering at the end of the day.

“You don`t feel the film is too quick for him. He remembers everything he does in the car and explains it to the engineers in a good way. I can be a bit critical of guys but I hardly find anything where he`s missing, except experience.

“He keeps his feet on the ground and he`s very confident but not arrogant. The team all like him, he`s the hero. We`re equal for both drivers but Sebastian has been in the team a bit longer and the guys all like him.”

But Berger also admitted that, while Vettel has a Red Bull contract, he doesn`t know which team the German will race for next season.

“For the next three years he has a contract with Red Bull, not Red Bull Racing,” he added. “But I don`t know where he`ll be next year.”

Read Steve Cooper`s in-depth feature with Germany`s new Formula One star in this week`s Autosport magazine, out on April 17.

16.4.2008   ▪ Formula One    ▪ Vettel    ▪ www.autosport.com