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Vettel A Likely Candidate, But Red Bull Would Prefer Alonso

Sebastian Vettel is no doubt a budding talent in Formula 1, but Red Bull Racing would prefer to set their sight ultimately on 2-time world champion Fernando Alonso.

David Coulthard has been a vocal supporter for the youngster to be his replacement in Red Bull Racing after his retirement, but revealed that the ultimate aim of Red Bull would be Fernando Alonso. "(The seat) should go to the quickest guy with a proven track record who is available.

"That might be Fernando Alonso for instance; if the team could get him that would make sense because he has great credentials as a double world champion.

"But if we assume he's not available, then it's completely logical to take Sebastian Vettel, who is within the Red Bull family, is performing well at Toro Rosso and naturally wants to progress to the larger team," said Coulthard. He will be serving as a team consultant next year with Red Bull, and would most likely play an influence part in deciding the candidate for his replacement.

Gerhard Berger, co-owner of Red Bull's sister team Toro Rosso, on the other hand would have to mull over Vettel's replacement should the young German make a move. "But at the moment I cannot see anybody (suitable)," he said.

The seat would most likely to go another rookie with several names being thrown up, the most high-profiled one being Bruno Senna, nephew of the late Ayrton Senna. Sebastien Buemi, who is currently the reserve and test driver for Red Bull, has been ruled out by Berger for being too inconsistent. But talent might not be the only factor that Berger is looking at, since the latest name associated with the Toro Rosso race seat is a relatively unknown Mexican driver Salvador Duran, who has some links to Carlos Sim - a Mexican businessman who is keen to bring his brand Telmex into F1. But Berger has maintained that this year, no contact has been established between the parties.

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Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved.

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