He is hopeful, but Jean-Eric Vergne insists he is still not sure if he will make his grand prix debut with Toro Rosso next year.
With his World Series season now concluded, the reigning British F3 champion recently began a new role as the Faenza based team’s Friday practice driver.

The heavily Red Bull-backed youngster is sitting out India because the circuit is new, but will be back in action in Abu Dhabi and Brazil next month.

Frenchman Vergne, 21, said recently he expects to replace either Jaime Alguersuari or Sebastien Buemi in 2012.

Before that, he will drive Red Bull’s title-winning car throughout the Abu Dhabi young driver test.

In France this weekend, he now tells the weekly Le Nouvel Observateur: “I must concentrate on my work, not paying attention to what is being said.

“Anyway, I don’t know anything about next season yet. The decision will be taken after Brazil,” said Vergne. “There is still time.”

Despite earlier worrying about teaming up with arguably F1′s greatest ever driver, Nico Rosberg now insists he is happy to be Michael Schumacher’s teammate. The pair have been together at Mercedes since last year and all the signs are pointing towards a future beyond their 2012 contracts. And Rosberg, who is 16 years younger than seven time world champion Schumacher, is happy. “I cannot hide that beating Michael with the frequency I have done is very good for my career,” said the German, who is yet to notch up his maiden race victory. On the other hand, the 26-year-old admitted, sharing a team with Schumacher “is not easy”. “With Michael you don’t really become close friends and he is very picky about everything,” Rosberg told O Estado de S.Paulo newspaper in Singapore. “You notice why he is a seven time champion, paying attention to every detail. I learn from Michael and he learns from me too.” One area in which Rosberg insists he is better is in braking for the slow corners. “That is mainly where I am ahead. I’m more efficient than him and it’s what the telemetry shows,” he revealed.

Pirelli has acknowledged it has a role to play in boosting formula one’s “show”.

The Italian brand is F1′s new exclusive supplier beginning next year, and some figures see it as an opportunity to create tyres that lead to entertaining races.

In Canada two weeks ago, Bridgestone’s crumbling tyres were credited for producing a spectacular race, and The Observer writer Oliver Owen said on Sunday he hoped “Pirelli were paying attention”.

“We want to create a show — as a fan I’d say it (Canada) was great fun, watching the strategy,” Paul Hembery, Pirelli’s competition director, told Reuters in the Valencia paddock on Sunday.

“Others would say that wasn’t very good for the tyre company,” he acknowledged.

“We can happily make a tyre that would last a whole race and not degrade, but we need to try and balance that with a good show.  I think we want to do the show route,” said Hembery.