Sergey Sirotkin's father says that his teenage son is not too young to make his Formula One debut later this year for the Sauber F1 team.

Sergey Sirotkin Sr. reportedly is at the helm of one of Sauber's new Russian partners that have stepped in to aid the financially troubled F1 franchise. Sirotkin's son, 17-year-old Sergey, plans to make F1 practice appearances in 2013, ahead of his full race debut next season.

"There will be a number of preliminary tests," Sirotkin Sr. told the Russian website f1news.ru on Monday. "And if these tests prove to be competitive, then we will talk about [Sergey Sirotkin] joining the team.

"If he needs additional development, so there will be an additional preparatory period," added Oleg Sirotkin.

"But we believe that Sergey, although young, has already gone quite a long way.

"He performed in Formula Abarth, in F3, in Auto GP, and this whole year he is in the Renault World Series. So he went through all the steps.

"We all know that Kimi Räikkönen went to Formula One straight from the Renault 2.0, and everything was fine.

"If a guy has flair and talent, it is not necessary to sit for 10 years in each category," Sirotkin Sr. insisted.

A major hurdle will be obtaining a mandatory FIA F1 super license, which is necessary even for Sirotkin to conduct practice sessions for Sauber.

His manager, Nikolay Vetrov, said, "The aim must be to make Sergey race-ready for 2014. I'm not talking about mental or physical condition, but of the necessary test kilometers."

Should the Russian deal ultimately save sinking Sauber, it will be hailed within the paddock. But, as ever in F1, there is always skepticism.

Some, including well-placed Russian sources, wonder if the companies are actually flush with money. Others question the link between them and next year's inaugural Russian Grand Prix, as 2014 race host-city Sochi, for instance, lies in the south, while Sauber's deal is with the State Fund of Development of North-West Russian Federation.

Team spokesman Hanspeter Brack eased the fears that Sauber was in danger of closing up shop before the end of the 2013 season.

"Sauber is financially out of the woods," Brack is quoted by Speed Week. "The racing operation is also secured through this season. [Sauber team principal Monisha] Kaltenborn informed the staff this morning, which came as a surprise even to them. There was spontaneous applause."

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