Verstappen keen for Vergne to stay at Toro Rosso F1 team

Vergne initially lost his Toro Rosso seat in favour of Verstappen, before Sebastian Vettel's decision to leave Red Bull for Ferrari created a new gap at STR, with Daniil Kvyat being promoted to fill Vettel's place.

That put Vergne in contention to stay on after all, though Red Bull junior programme members Carlos Sainz Jr, Alex Lynn and Pierre Gasly are also contenders.

Asked by AUTOSPORT if he would prefer an experienced team-mate for his debut season, Verstappen replied: "I think for the team it's better to have an experienced driver.

"So I think in the end it would be better if Jean-Eric would stay.

"And, in the end, it's also better for me because he has a lot of experience so he can help me to improve myself as well.

"He is relaxed and he is a good guy. He's friendly to me and I appreciate that a lot so hopefully we can work together next year."

Whatever the outcome at Toro Rosso, Verstappen hopes Vergne stays in F1.

"I think he has great talent otherwise he would not even have been in F1. So yes, he deserves it," he said.

Vergne suggested on Thursday that retaining him would be "a win-win for everybody" at Toro Rosso.