Though he is still learning, Jean-Eric Vergne is adamant that this season is going to be completely different to 2012 when he had to deal with a lot of unknowns.

"Going into this season is a completely different experience to this time last year, when I had to deal with a lot of unknowns," admits the Frenchman. "I had to learn the majority of tracks, understand so many details about Formula 1 and learn to work with the team.

"This year, I will still be learning," he continues, "you never stop learning - but the basics are there and I will be able to focus on more important aspects of the job.

"There are many changes within the team, and for me personally," he adds, "I will be working with a new race engineer (Phil Charles ex Renault F1). I expect it will take some time to learn to work together, but I regard this as a positive step for me. My new engineer comes from a world championship winning team and he will bring a different approach and overall I think it should be a good thing.

"In general, I sense a new philosophy within Toro Rosso," says the Frenchman, "I wouldn't say people are working harder, but maybe they are going in a better direction and everyone has been working hard since the end of last season, to achieve our goals.

"My priorities for the coming year? The first one is of course to score as many points as possible. After that, like any driver, I want to beat my team-mate. I learned a lot from him last year and I feel I am ready to do better and move forward."

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