Horner confirms candidates for Red Bull

Red Bull boss Christian Horner has reiterated that Toro Rosso duo Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne plus Lotus' Kimi Raikkonen are all candidates for the seat that will be made available when Mark Webber leaves Formula 1 at the end of the season.

When asked by the official Formula 1 website if Toro Rosso as a junior team would be undermined should Red Bull opt for another driver, Horner replied: "Red Bull Racing is a world championship-winning team and wants to put the best drivers in our cars.

"Now if one of these drivers can be of the junior team, that will purely be based on merit. They both have the opportunity to shine, but we are also taking into consideration what other drivers are available. For sure, both of the juniors are contenders, and also one or two drivers that are out of contract at the end of the year."

When pushed as to whether there are more options available to Red Bull, Horner explained: "Well, there are a lot of drivers without contract at the end of the year. But the reality is that it will boil down to three drivers: the two juniors and Kimi."