Red Bull Junior Dan Ticktum says he’s avoiding speculation about his future as he focuses on taking the 2018 European Formula 3 championship.
Ticktum is one of a handful of Red Bull junior drivers being suggested as a replacement for Pierre Gasly at Toro Rosso, although he doesn’t yet have the super license points required to compete in Formula 1.
With just three rounds of the F3 season remaining, Ticktum leads the championship by 12 points to Motopark’s Juri Vips.
Winning the title would earn enough points for Ticktum to make his F1 debut, but he isn’t thinking about the speculation concerning his future as he races.
“I don’t know [what’s happening next year],” he told Read Motorsport. “We’ll see. I’m not speculating at the moment.
“I don’t really think about [the pressure], to be honest. I just know that it’s a wonderful opportunity, so I’ve just got to view it as a positive.”
Ticktum currently only has seven points – two from his sixth place finish in the 2015 MSA Formula, and five bonus points granted at the discression of the MSA.
Winning the F3 championship would earn him an additional 30 points but, with 40 points needed for a full race license, Ticktum would need to take the bonus points available for “completing 80% of two qualifying championships”.
A number of other drivers have been suggested as 2019 Toro Rosso drivers, including Formula E champion Sebastien Buemi after the team tweeted a photo of Buemi getting a seat fitting.
Ciao Seb! ?
Our reserve driver stopped by earlier today for another seat fit ? pic.twitter.com/aSkTpZDYHy— Toro Rosso (@ToroRosso) September 5, 2018
