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Could Red Bull sign Yamamoto? Horner responds

Could Red Bull sign Yamamoto? Horner responds

Could Red Bull sign Yamamoto? Horner responds

Could Red Bull sign Yamamoto? Horner responds

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner says Naoki Yamamoto "doesn't fit the criteria" for a race drive at his team or Toro Rosso.

Yamamoto debuted in Formula 1 with a run at Toro Rosso in the first practice session for the Japanese Grand Prix.

The Super Formula champion was just a tenth adrift of Daniil Kvyat in matching machinery and certainly looked the part around a Suzuka circuit he knows well.

At 31-years-old, Yamamoto's profile differs from the younger talents Red Bull tend to look for, although he has been tentatively linked with a race seat at Toro Rosso, where the line-up has been volatile in recent years, while influence from Honda could also be a factor.

"He's done a very good job for his first session in a Formula 1 car," Horner told Sky Sports.

"I think he acquitted himself extremely well. He's had a very successful career racing over here and with Jenson [Button] in the GTs. He doesn't fit the criteria [for a race seat at Red Bull or Toro Rosso] at the moment, but he's certainly worth giving a run and having a look at today."

Horner saw no reason to doubt that Yamamoto's ability to match Kvyat had nothing to do with a technical difference between their cars.

He said: "I don't know the ins and outs of their run plan, but it's pretty usual they run a standard setting across the cars so he's done a good job there."

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