Jean-Eric Vergne not jealous of Daniel Ricciardo's Red Bull drive
The Toro Rosso driver says he has out-scored Ricciardo both last season and this and believes he could have got the Red Bull seat as well.
Frenchman Jean-Eric Vergne on Friday stressed that he was not jealous of his Toro Rosso team-mate Daniel Ricciardo's (in pic) success in landing a place in the Red Bull team next year.
He said he understood the decision even though he has out-scored the Australian both last season and this.
"I understand it - he is stronger than me in certain aspects, but I am stronger than him in others," he said.
"Of course, right now, it's a bit disappointing but who knows? In the future, maybe it will be a good thing to stay at Toro Rosso and get one more year to learn everything and get more experience."
He added: "I don't need to prove that I can be in the seat, when you look at Daniel's results and mine they are really similar.
"I ended up with more points last year and I have more points than him right now. It does not mean I am a better driver and he has done some things better than me, but he has more experience.
"Looking at his performance and mine, I think I could have got the seat as well.... But, of course, I'm not jealous, I am really happy for him. Red Bull took the right decision to take a Red Bull driver next year!"