Sebastian Vettel's Red Bull teammate Daniel Ricciardo has revealed his surprise at the news that this will be his last season racing alongside the German.
Red Bull announced earlier this morning that Vettel will leave the team at the end of the Formula 1 year, with 20-year-old Russian rookie Daniil Kvyat set to take his place.
"I was a little bit surprised but I think that he has achieved enough here, and he wants to move on," Ricciardo is quoted as saying by ESPN.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner is not worried about Ricciardo taking over the responsibility of lead driver, however.
"I think we've demonstrated in Daniel Ricciardo this year we've got a world class driver," Horner said. "What he's demonstrated has been phenomenal on track and in Daniil Kvyat we've got a really exciting young prospect for the future in just the same way that Sebastian Vettel was. Giving these youngsters a chance - they're the next generation."
Vettel finished in a lowly fifteenth place in this morning's final practice for the Japanese Grand Prix, while Ricciardo placed in sixth.
Phil Archbold
