Toro Rosso new boy Jean-Eric Vergne is refusing to look beyond his forthcoming debut campaign in Formula One, despite the prospect of potential promotion for next year.

Having joined Red Bull's young driver development programme four years ago, Vergne will this season make his first fully-fledged foray into F1 with the Faenza-based squad.

After impressing in three Friday practice sessions towards the end of last season, and again in the young driver test that sandwiched the final two grands prix in Abu Dhabi and Brazil, Toro Rosso decided Vergne deserved his chance.

Surprisingly, the 21-year-old Frenchman managed to leapfrog F1's traditional breeding ground of GP2, instead coming straight from the Formula Renault 3.5 Series in which he was second last year.

Although yet to savour a full grand prix weekend, there is already speculation he and team-mate Daniel Ricciardo are battling it out this year for the likely vacancy at Red Bull in 2013 as the suggestion is this is Mark Webber's final year.

But Vergne said: "I am not thinking at 2013.

"Obviously there is probably a chance with Red Bull, but I will not answer these kinds of questions because at the moment I don't want to look too far ahead.

"For this year I am with Toro Rosso. I will do my best for this year, and then see what happens in the future.

"Of course, I don't want to be in F1 to be one of the drivers in the field.

"I want one day to be on the top of this list of good drivers. So I don't need anybody to put the pressure on me."

Despite his apparent inexperience, Vergne is adamant he is ready to take on, and hopefully beat, the best.

Even though Vergne is more than half the age of 43-year-old seven-times champion Michael Schumacher, who won his first title when the young French driver was just four, he is not in awe of his new surroundings.

"It's going to be quite something being on the starting grid in Melbourne (for the opening race in Australia on March 18)," said Vergne.

"This is something I am thinking about right now, but when I am on the grid I won't think about it.

"He (Schumacher) is just going to be a driver with a helmet that I want to beat."

Vergne represents a new generation of French driver, a nation that has endured lean times of late, in particular as they no longer have their own race.

Since Olivier Panis retired at the end of 2004, there have only been three up to to this season - Franck Montagny for seven races in 2006, Sebastien Bourdais for 27 races over 2008 and 2009, and Romain Grosjean for seven races in 2009.

However, Vergne is joined on the grid by Grosjean at Lotus and Charles Pic at Marussia, while Jules Bianchi is reserve driver with Force India.

"It's a good period for France," said Vergne.

"The FFSA (French Federation of Sport Automobile) has a good programme that started maybe five or six years ago when they took me out of karting.

"Thanks to them, I went from karting to single seaters and I got the Red Bull deal.

"They followed me to F1 and they are doing this with Charles, Romain and Jules, who will hopefully be joining us soon."