Toro Rosso team principal Franz Tost has confirmed that their drivers, Jaime Alguersuari and Sebastien Buemi, will continue racing for the squad for the 2011 season. He also said that he expects improvements from both of the drivers as they gain experience, and as Toro Rosso challenge for 8th in the championship.
Both Buemi and Alguersuari have been kept by Toro Rosso for 2011
"I believe our drivers will be well prepared for 2011, which is why
they are both confirmed for next year. It is also logical, because
one key role of Scuderia Toro Rosso is to bring on young drivers
from the Red Bull Young Driver programme and at the ages of 21 and
20 respectively, both Seb and Jaime certainly still meet the right
Our drivers still lack F1 experience compared to the majority of
their colleagues. Therefore, as they get more track time with every
race, I expect to see an improvement in the final half of the season.
This is particularly relevant to Alguersuari, because from Hungary
onwards, he will be able to rely on the knowledge he picked up after
making his debut there in 2009, knowing all the remaining tracks, with
the exception of Korea.
It is not just a case of their driving getting better, because it is
also true that their understanding and engineering feedback improves,
which is vital if we are to get the most out of our package."
He also explained how the team were going to continue developing this year’s car, while also creating their 2011 challenger:
"In terms of the car itself, we are introducing some updates over these
next two races, starting with a new front wing in Hockenheim, then a new
diffuser in Hungary. Other updates are in the pipeline and I am therefore
convinced that car performance will improve, starting with next weekend.
The design group has been split, with part of it already working on the
2011 car, including starting wind tunnel work, which is a first, given
that our Bicester wind tunnel was not fully validated this time last year
and therefore was not able to contribute much to the basic design of the
Another part of the design group is still working on developing new
specifications for this year’s car. Of course, our resources are limited
when compared to the teams ahead of us in the championship, but we have
no plans to increase our manpower, as the F1 regulations are moving towards
capping the size of the workforce in the future and while our size might be
a disadvantage at the moment, it could become a positive factor in the future.
I expect a combination of car updates and improved performance from the
drivers and indeed the whole team to bring us more points in what remains
of the season.
Why could we not do this earlier? It’s quite simply a matter of resources,
in that we are a small team and even in this high-tech age, without the
people to generate and drive the technology forward, not just in terms of
production but also design and development, you cannot improve.
We have not fixed a cut-off date when development of the STR5 will stop
and, while working on the STR6, if we come up with some solutions that we
feel could benefit this year’s car and we have the resources and capacity
to produce new parts, then we will introduce them on STR5. It would also
mean we are effectively testing for 2011 this season."
Like last year, it’s a no brainer to keep both Buemi and Alguersuari. Neither of the two have enough experience in Formula 1 to be properly judged, although you could argue that Buemi has had his fair share of time. This also dispels any rumours of Sebastien being hired for Renault in 2011.
Alguersuari, on the other hand, has been in Formula 1 for slightly less than a year now, but still needs to up his game if he is to progress in Formula 1. Despite an impressive performance in Malaysia, he has only 3 points to his name so far, compared to Buemi’s 7.
While neither driver has been particularly poor or good, I would have expected Brendon Hartley or Daniel Ricciardo to have been considered for a drive for 2011 as well. However, there are rumours that Buemi and Alguersuari are being looked at for a Red Bull drive in 2012, particularly Buemi, so this could well open the door for either Ricciardo or Hartley at Toro Rosso.