Red Bull have said that there is no pressure for them to put one of it’s young drivers into their car for 2014.

Rumours have been rampant the past month on who will replace Australian Mark Webber. The confirmed potential drivers on the shortlist are Toro Rosso’s Daniel Ricciardo and Lotus’ Kimi Raikkonen. And as of the Hungarian grand prix race weekend Fernando Alonso also seems to be under consideration for the champion squad. However, it remains to be seen whether Alonso will be contractually available, whether Ferrari would let him go without too much of a fight and most importantly, whether or not the rumour is just a bit of political by-play from Alonso.

Even though the Toro Rosso team was set up with the aim of bringing young talent into the sport Red Bull team principal Christian Horner says that Ricciardo will not be selected if it is not in the best interest of the team. “Of course we want the strongest drivers in the cars that you possibly can,” said Horner.

It makes sense to plan for the future with a younger driver. But what Horner is saying makes more sense. Formula 1 is about now and having the best driver line-up ensures at the very least a chance of fighting amongst the front-end.

Daniel Ricciardo proved his prowess at the three-day Silverstone test. However, being in the thick of things against a triple world champion teammate, with every miniscule move scrutinised by the world’s sporting media is whole different prospect. Does Ricciardo have the talent to perform in the Red Bull? Almost certainly. Can Ricciardo cope with the pressure of racing for Formula 1’s premier team? Big question mark. Chances are that he could handle it without any problems but the doubt is there.

Contrastingly, having a driver of Raikkonen or Alonso’s calibre in the team is a guarantee. A guarantee of speed, consistency and knowing how to handle the world’s media.

It will also be more beneficial for Sebastian Vettel to have either Raikkonen or Alonso as his teammate. Though Vettel is a triple world champion he has hardly ever been pushed by a teammate for an extended period of time. Some suggest that for Vettel to be truly regarded as one of the greats he needs to beat the best drivers on the grid. With all things being equal, armed with the same car, would he be able to do that against Raikkonen or Alonso? No matter the answer of this question pairing Vettel with either one of these two is going to be one hell of an explosive ride.

Photos by Red Bull Racing Twitter Team.