With Toro Rosso having thrown the babies out with the bathwater, on the orders of Red Bull in Austria, there is not much hope for either Sebastien Buemi or Jaime Alguersuari. The Spaniard will no doubt go looking for HRT – wherever that may be at the moment – and would be a logical choice alongside Pedro de la Rosa. The only worry is that the team might not have any cars for next season, unless someone makes sure that they are on schedule with the various sub-contractors. That would give the team the all-Spanish line-up it so desires and, in theory at least, would make it easier for the team to raise money either in Spain (where there is a massive economic crisis) or in Latin America, where there is a little more money about. Sadly for HRT, Sauber has already snuck in and taken the Slim Family, but there may be others who want to get involved in F1. There may also be some government help, by way of Alejandro Agag, but it remains to be seen whether he is there to help, or simply waiting until Thesan Capital make a complete mess of things and he can buy the team for a knockdown price.
As for Buemi, he will no doubt beat his way to the door at Caterham and at Williams, where there appear to be vacancies. It would be a bit of a risk for the team to take him, although in his favour he would be cheap. The problem he has is that the market now has Bruno Senna, Jerome d’Ambrosio and Vitaly Petrov, all with recent F1 experience and all able to attract funding.
Barrichello and Sutil/Hulkenberg are on the drivers market too, all good drivers and I believe Sutil comes with a few euro in sponsorship too
Red Bull seem to be all over the place with regards to driver management. I can’t see why they have so many drivers under contract, with nowhere near as many race seats.
Algersuari has performed really well this year, maybe he’ll luck out like Grosjean and get a 2nd shot.
I think Grosjean earned a second chance. The sad thing is that while there are still old drivers using up spaces when there are better options available.
Oh, I’m not questioning that, but without a dose of luck he wouldn’t be back. I think Algersuari has earned his place this year, he needs some luck now, not an HRT car.
Red Bull gives you wings – by killing you off.
How about this: Petrov goes to Williams with his resplendent Russian Rubles. Maldonado gets the boot from Williams because as you’ve said Joe – Contracts are worth virtually nothing in F1 and they don’t want two pay drivers and they also pick up Hulkenberg. Alguersuari goes to HRT (if they’re on the grid at all next year) and Trulli keeps his seat at Caterham. Sound ridiculous?
THE Maldonado contract is worth rather more than nothing. He would not be there were it not for a boatload of dollars from President Chaves. The problem is that it was a very big boat and Williams is a team that likes to eat dollars.
does sutils money not cover it cos it just doesnt make sense having maldonado and sutil when you can have sutil and barichello
I can’t savvy even Williams tossing off Hulkenberg for 12 months then re-hiring him.
Why not? They’ve re-hired Mansell, Button (tried to) to think of two. It’s all a far cry from the glory days of hiring Prost in one year, Senna the next though.
Would be a bitter pill for Hulk to swallow though.
Joe,
HRT are on track to have cars for next year.
Just read the statements and interviews with the staff.
Just because Kolles has left now – we are in December, it doesn’t mean they won’t turn up, they left it a lot later last year.
I will believe it when I see it. The staff mostly work for Kolles.
in which HRT have bought everything apart from Staff that didn’t want to relocate.
…which was most of them
I guess this isn’t something I’m going to win.
Joe,
Pedro is a popular bloke with a lot of good contacts but even if he finds and wins staff over, getting them actually on board would be what? months, how many?
tia
build
Yikes, you believe press statements made by F1 teams!? If that were true we’d already know for sure what’s going on at Force India and Williams since Vijay said he’d announce his drivers around Abu Dhabi.
Believe he was quoted latest as stating 15 December as the announcement day. Must be getting pretty close in your zone as well past it in mine.
Just another of his promises…’the cheque’s in the mail; your wages are in your account, etc…’
Today is December 16… and who is driving for Force India.
Oh, and the cheque is in the post… but it’s Christmas, you know…
Massa, Schumacher and Trulli should have gone and De La Rosa shouldn’t have been hired, in my opinion
Agreed. I like Pedro, but I think Alguersuari, Senna, Hulkenberg and Buemi deserve better.
Exactly!! Drivers with long careers hanging on and the young guys are scrambling around without an opening.
It seems very unfair.
You say ‘hanging on’ but older drivers at least bring the cars home, with points instead of writing off the chassis into T1…
How many times have Algersuari and Buemi put the car into the first corner? Some older drivers do need to go.
Not sure I understand your point
Drivers with long careers are fine – if they are better than the alternatives.
Advantage of DLR though is that he comes with years of experience behind the scenes at McLaren. He might not be the best choice on lap times but HRT need technical expertise for now and can worry about lap times later.
i wouldnt class Jamie Algersuari or Sebastien Buemi as a better option than the older driver like Michael Schumacher or Barrichello to be honest. In fact i think Schumacher proved this year that he can still cut it especially in race situations.
Impossible to say. It could be that either of the Toro Rosso drivers would be fast in a Mercedes. We just don’t know…
Sutil for me is a stand out driver who should be up there.
Joe perhaps an article on what to do if you are driver without a drive.
Sports cars, GP2,DTM?
Assuming a year away at Sutils age would kill it for him. Jamie is only 21?!?
indycar, nascar rallying or just general touring cars?
So does this keep Sauber ahead of Toro Rosso next year?
still so young, if nothing else they have a massive boast on their resume of F1 experience. but yeah it looks like a steep hill for either of them to climb to ever get in a competitive seat!
Surely Senna into Caterham then – the ‘nice’ guy at the ‘nice’ team.
It all spells the kiss of death for Rubinho’s career, I suspect.
agree about senna going to caterham however rubens still could get the seat at williams
GOsh, they’re trending on Twitter…
At least I’ll have less issues with spelling next year when writing/posting/blogging about F1.
Who knows, maybe Pedro picked up some ideas about managing the building of a car during his spell at McLaren. I doubt someone like Agag (if he is in there somewhere with them) will have enough experience to do the job.
Funny how the team overhauls its technical side each year and still keeps saying how they will manage to be there for testing this time. For real – yeah sure, guys.
i heard adrian campos is coming back
Formula 1 needs an age cap of 40 these days!
I was thinking the same thing. It is getting silly. it isn’t the 1950s – de la Rosa, Trulli, Schumacher and Barrichello have proven what they can do (or otherwise) and I think their teams would benefit from an injection of young blood.
There will always be more good drivers coming through than seats available. Do any of these young hot shots genuinely look like championship contenders?
Jem,
Yes, I think some of them do. If they are in the right car.
An age cap is silly and borders on discrimination. What is needed is a system of putting the best drivers in cars, irregardless of age. If Schumacher and Barrichello are still in the top 24 of available drivers, it’s a pleasure to see them still driving and trying to hold back time
To put it bluntly the problem is that there is not the same “natural wasteage” these days. Drivers do not get hurt or killed and because there is no testing there is no way to measure them against newcomers. Thus things remain relatively static.
Are we to assume that Buemi and Alguersuari are also now longer any kind of contract with Red Bull? Red Bull sure can be ruthless, I guess that’s part of the game though ay? They did the same thing to Liuzzi and Christian Klien, neither of which ever got a real chance to me.
Especially Klein ! As for Alger and Buemi, was it Joe who pointed out that it was hard to tell if either driver was ordinary or fast because there was no “external” standard ? If Ricciardo and Vergne are within a tenth of each other in 2012, they still won’t be able to tell if any speed there comes from the car or the driver. TR would have done themselves a favour by mixing up their drivers from 2011 and the future hotshoes.
Joe, do you think Marko can make these judgements just from the readouts, or is there some info you only get from drivers in the car ?
I think it’s a shame both have been dropped. Both where improving season after season, Buemi had some bad luck this season and feel he got unfair criticism and has been improving ever since he started, Alguersuari who has had many chances turned his season around. But I guess they wanted Vergne and Ricciardo in very quickly, but why do they have so many drivers in a similar age group? You are not going to find a driver that’s going to excel straightaway in these circumstances now with no testing, drivers need to grow, both of these drivers showed that. But I guess Ricciardo and Vergne are both highly rated.
What annoys me though, is how late this decision is, where are both of them meant to go? Their careers are effectively ruined at the age of 21 and 23, I am disappointed on how they have handled it, but then I don’t have the full info, so…
All I can say is, as a Buemi and Toro Rosso fan, I am gutted, disappointed. I think the team with these two grew a lot in the past two years, and next year they, both drivers and the team could have been better.
Wish them both the best…just hope Buemi gets a seat somewhere, I am sure Alguersuari will get the HRT one.
Joe, what do you think of rumours of Jules Bianchi joining Force India as the reservce driver?
This is F1, anything is possible
Force India give their reserve drivers running time on a Friday. Ferrari don’t. So it kinda makes sense for him.
i insist. something is going to happen with Epsilon Euskadi.
Remember my comments on your blog a few months back when thesan bought HRT.
Right wing parties in spain move slowly. They are probably pushing Villadelprat to join or they will throw him out. HRT will move into Vitoria-Gasteiz facilities and so they said it when thesan was looking around valencia. Forget Valencia is too poor. The basque region is richer and the basque government has debts to pay to Agag’s party.
ps: The basque government has recently been taken by the parties around Agag world parties (in 2009). This is moving slowly but surely.
Also Epsilon euskadi seems to have cancelled the masters in motorsport course.
Are there really vacancies at Caterham though? The entry list includes Kovo and Trulli and while I could believe Trulli being booted so that Red Bull could pay to put a young hot shot in the car, I don’t see that happening for Buemi or Alguesuari.
Bottom line is that Toro Rosso is the final exam for Mark Webber’s seat and neither Buemi nor Alguesuari have dazzled. Brutal, but that’s F1.
Senna is available as a test driver for Lotus next year, according to him. The problem is Kimi and Grosjean need to test friday mornings to acclimate to F1, so it would be a fruitless year for Senna in this position.
Don’t know if Caterham is interested in him, replacing Trulli. I think tis is his best chance. Hard days for him.
Joe, are you convinced Sutil is staying at Force India?
Let’s see by the end of today.
Any idea when the press release will happen today, Joe?
Reading between the lines…
RBR – Vettel / Webber
McL – Button / Hamilton
FER – Alonso / Massa
MER – Schumacher / Rosberg
LOT – Raikkonen / Grosjean
SFI – Sutil / di Resta
SAU – Kobayashi / Perez
STR – Ricciardo / Vergne
WIL – Glock / Maldonado
CAT – Kovalainen / Buemi
HRT – de la Rosa / Alguersuari
MAR – Petrov / Pic
Main players in the cold…
Barrichello (Lotus test/reserve, or done)
Senna (? probably done, for now…)
Hulkenberg (Mercedes test/reserve?)
Trulli (Caterham test/reserve?)
Liuzzi (? probably done)
d’Ambrosio (Lotus test/reserve?)
Glock to Williams could be interesting. I’m sure he’d jump at that drive. But I just don’t see that happening with Barrichello and Hulkenberg potentially available
D’ambrosio will end up @ Lotus doing Friday drive and reserve role through boullier managing him. Buemi is gone and Senna will replace Trulli, through him knowing fernandes through negotiating with Team Lotus laswt year after he left HRT. Glock is still contracted to Virgin and I reckon Petrov will end up as his reserve and take over when one pulls out. Alguersuari will almost definitely be at HRT next season and between Agag and the boys at Epsilon Euskadi i reckon a deal will come with Thesen ending up with just a share in the team. Trulli has been uncompetitive this season and should go, Liuzzi as well as Ricciardo outperformed him most of the time. AND BRING BACK BARICHELLO as out of all the old drivers in a half decent car he is the most competitive
Petrov to Marussia is not going to happen. They already have Russian money.
Do you think there are any young drivers out there who are thinking twice about Red Bull’s. ‘stairway of opportunity’?
Joe
Is it correct FOM have to guarantee to the FIA a certain number of cars on the grid for each race? What happens if teams drop out for next season?
A cheap driver aint no good to a team unless they can drive quick!
Yes, there are lots of guarantees, to the FIA, to circuits, to teams and so on. But I think the danger number is as low as 14 cars, although I don’t think that this is public information
As far as I know, Mr E. guarantees a grid with at least 18 cars.
He guarantees different things to different people.
Best choice for them is surely to coszy up with Caterham or Williams and take a test/reserve driver role and play the waiting game. Trulli is all but retired and Rubens is probably at the same place, neither will in all liklihood stay past 2012 and free up a spot. I know that I remember Ant Davidson on the Freepratices praising Jaime for his technical feeback, surely Williams of all teams needs this kind of driver if Rubens isnt kept?
Feel bad for both, but F1 is anything but a kind beast to all but the top drivers (and even then it can be ruthless)
I can’t beleive Red Bull is getting rid of Alguersuari and keeping Webber. Mark, while driving a rocket on wheels, as Vettel showed us, was barely able to be on the podium. Do they really think he can become World Champion? Jaime, at Red Bull, would have meant tons of trouble for Vettel!!
“Would have beens” and “should have beens” don’t count in the harsh world of F1.
And, “barely able to be on the podium” – on 10 occasions… Silly argument.
I wouldn’t say it was a silly argument. Webber was completely outperformed by Vettle this year. 10 podiums with the car he had was a poor effort. Joe if you’re talking about older drivers making way then I would say based on 2011 Webber would be a prime candidate to go. Certainly more so than Barrichello or Schumacher.
That is not what you wrote. You write that he could hardly get himself onto the podium.
well maybe he was able to get himself on a podium, but he got destroyed so bad this year, that after the first half of the season, i got convinced that getting destroyed by vettel was somehow written in his contract. sure, he might not be on vettel’s level, but he almost won the championship last year with a fractured shoulder, and he didn’t get destroyed this bad when he was driving with steel rods in his leg in 2009.
maybe it was the tires, maybe he lost motivation because vettel winning the championship meant that he got clear number 1 status in the team. but his performance this season just didn’t seem right to me. than again, if he lost motivation or isn’t allowed to win anymore, why continue to race? i don’t think he needs the money.
I think there is too much hyperbole in your opinions. There are levels of subtlety involved in driver choices which make them hard to understand sometimes. Webber does exactly what the team wants. He might want to win more races, and he does not want gifts, but you must preface any judgement of Mark on the fact that Sebastian is doing so well.
And watching teh races, usually their was a large gap between 3rd and 4th. e.g. Vettel 1 Alonso 2 Webber 3rd and then a gap until a McLaren in Valencia.
You can’t judge a driver based on 1 season thought once they are no longer a rookie.
If Webber is like 2011 then let him go, however if it like 2010 then very little argument will dislodge him. 2009 again similiar.
And I would say Schumcaher was worse. He has had both seasons of him comeback behind Rosberg and Rosberg isn’t exactly Vettel.
People seem to forget that Mark Webber actually had more points this year (258) than he got last year (242). He nearly won the Driver’s title last year with less points than he got this year…
How is that under-achieving? Sebastian Vettel’s Pole to Grid to Finish approach won him the title and sadly he outpaced Webber in qualifying more often, dulling the spectacle. I believe Webber can topple Vettel, particularly if someone is in front of the Champion on the grid to keep him from KERS-ing his way out of reach
3rd place in the driver’s title and only one win out of the whole season in the best car is underachieving. That’s a fact.
I do not argue that. I argue with your description of Webber struggling to get podiums. Yes, he did not perform as well as he would have hoped, but nor did he struugle as much as you intimated.
Robert not me said Webber struggled to get podiums. I did not say that. I do however believe you should have one more than one race in the 2011 Red Bull.
Sorry meant to say Webber should have won more than one race! Not you Joe!
Webber finished 3rd in the WDC ahead of Alonso and Hamilton. His only race where he finished worse than 5th was a DNF. There is no way that Jaime could perform that well, therefore RBR keep Webber to ensure the constructors championship next year.
Hi Joe, long time reader, first time comment. Brilliant website btw, you’re easily one of my favourite F1 writers.
I’ll look forward to the battle between Vergne and Ricciardo. It seems as though STR drivers need to be mentally tough as well as very gifted. No wonder the only one to survive the pressure cooker is currently a 2x WDC (granted, it helped that he’s driving the best car on the grid).
Any truth to the rumours that Ricciardo was going to go to Caterham but then someone else came in with more money to buy the seat? If so, who were STR going to drop out of JA and SB as surely they wouldn’t have dropped both if Ricciardo went to Caterham?
There was an interview a couple of months ago on Aussie TV where Marko said very matter of factly that Webber will retire at the end of 2012 and if Ricciardo does his job, he is the one that will land the 2013 Red Bull seat. I wonder if Vergne has shown something special and jumped ahead of Ricciardo? Just a few thoughts but the bigger picture is fascinating, seeing as it’s a possible shootout for 2013 and a shot at a WDC, there’s a lot on the line for both drivers next year.
Oh, and what happens if Webber is on or near Vettels pace next year? It’s interesting to note that when the EBD was banned for a few races (Valencia and Silverstone I think) that Webber was much closer/a little faster than Vettel. Just as in 2010 Vettel really came on strong around the same time Red Bull nailed their EBD.
Marko’s policy is to throw the best against the best. Thus Ricciardo must beat Vergne, and vice versa. Webber is not likely to retire. I see him as a potential Ferrari driver in 2013.
Joe,
I take it that is dependant on Kubica coming good?
Sadly I can’t see Kubica returning to F1.
Really? “A reliable source” says Sergio Perez has all but got that gig.
Reliable sources are few are far between.
aye . . .hence the quotes!
They are going to need the 3rd car rule soon!
Alonso, Perez and Kubica!
Wow! Really !!? I’d get up in the middle of the noght to watch that.
Does it mean Ferrari are not yet convinced by Perez, or was that always partly hype ?
… the night, even …
Joe,
ON Webber becoming a potential Ferrari driver.
I know that is something that has been muttered ever since the Spainish and Monaco GP’s on 2010 but why do you think so?
I doubt Kubica will be there. Massa depends on improvement. Hamilton is out and Button is with McLaren. Vettel is with RBR nad Rosberg Mercedes.
Is this your logic behind Webber being a potential driver at Ferrari or have heard that Ferrari would want an older driver over say a young 2 years in the sport Perez or a young Bianchi?
Because he is fast enough to get points, but not out-and-out fast enough to worry Alonso (although it is a matter of hundredths)
Because he is wise and being a Ferrari driver is not a good thing for a young driver.
Because he can win races when his team-mate breaks down.
Because he is intelligent, committed, fit and focussed. And he can handle adversity.
Because he is a mate of Alonso, and having two team-mates who get on is a bonus.
Because every driver, whether they admit it or not, wants to drive for Ferrari before they finish their careers.
Couldn’t have said it better, Joe. You’ve convinced me completely with that.
Thanks.
All great points, only thing that would worry Ferrari in my opinion is that the last time Webber had team order used against him, his response was f*** off, I’m doing for the overtake.
Granted Vettel was miles into the lead for WDC and granted different circumstances could have provoked different opinions, but that surely might worry the team that loves team orders and 1 and 2 drivers. (oh year, Webber also doesn’t like being no 2)
Otherwise I agree with all your points.
“Because he is fast enough to get points, but not out-and-out fast enough to worry Alonso”
Get ya sauce out mate you’ll need it to flavour your hat
My sauce is ready
Can’t HRT just redo their 2011 car? All they need t do is redo the exhaust system.
It’s not like they’re looking at performance anyway.
Apart from the fact that they need KERS to be even vaguely competitive… and there is no room in the old car. And, hmm, most of the parts on the cars are now max-ed out in terms of lifing.
Marussia and HRT have already confirmed they will not run KERS next season.
Someone better tell the HRT designers (if you can find them) because the car definitely has KERS in it, and they are paying Williams for the system so it might be wise to use it.
Is there any chance to write an article on the RedBull climbing ladder in the near future so we can better understand how they operate?
In the near future? No. In the near future I am going to a party and will then shut down the blog for the holidays. It is nearly time for Joe to stick up the “Gone Fishing” signs again.
I hate that part of the year!
Well deserved, Joe.
no doubt the day before ‘ol Vijay makes his announcement…
Interesting comparison perhaps to the old PSR ‘staircase of talent’ (which ironically they ripped up when Stewart F1 was launched).
Joe,
Do you think this decision was influenced at all in Fernandes deciding to keep Trulli?
Maybe the idea was to replace one with Riciardo and have Vergne in the Caterham before moving over to replace the slower of the two in STR. Fernandes could say no to that wanting to keep a 2nd driver for more than a year and that decided that.
Thoughts?
No. Red Bull has the money and so when it comes to who is influencing whom, you may be looking down the telescope the wrong way.
thanks.
I like Trulli, and I think he’s been a good driver over the years, but I think if he ends up on the grid in 2012 with all these other young talents missing out, it will be a real shame.
To be out of a drive Sutil must have really pissed off some team owners with the stabby nightclub thing
Or the victim got his own back by making sure he was unhireable.
I know business is brutal and F1 is a business. Still I think it’s sad to see Buemi and Alguersuari being fired after a so far promising career.
Because they never had experienced team mates that already had some success, we never got strong benchmarks to see how good they really were, which by the way will be the same Ricciardo and Vergne.
Still, Buemi outperformed Sebastien Bourdais just like Vettel had done a year earlier. And whatever can be said against Bourdais, he is certainly not slow. And Alguersuari was thrown into F1 without significant testing, yet managed to perform at a similar level as Buemi when he had the experience.
So, in my opinion, these guys were good and if the STR won’t be faster next year, I can’t see Ricciardo and Vergne doing better than their predecessors.
It’s ironic to see that the Red Bull programme so far only produced one real top driver (Vettel) but only after he had impressed as a BMW driver….
I was a little surprised by Jaime not being kept. He seemed good at tyre management, according to Ant Davidson was good a feedback, and I was really impressed with interviews (like with DC at Monza) and considering he is still only 21. For me Buemi did not tick as many boxes, so without being actually much poorer I would have drafted one of the new 2012 Toro Rosso drivers to replace him.
Jaime has certainly admitted surprise at the decission but was gratious enough to appreciate Red Bull’s investment in him these last 7 years and to put his situation in the light of Spain’s curent high umemployment.
Joe what is your thoughts on drivers jumping from the likes of World Series etc straight into F1. I know some have done it successfully, but would it not have been better for Alguesuari’s development at the time to go to GP2 first and then F1.
Is it just me or do Red Bull not like GP2 as Buemi aside, Vettel, Alguesuari, Vergne and Ricciardo all bypassed it, and dont think there have been any Red Bull drivers in GP2 for a couple of years?
Or does class shine through regardless of where you are placed?
Kimi went from Formula Renault to F1. Many drivers have gone from F3 to F1. No big deal really.
GP2 and FR3.5 are at a similiar level so it doesn’t so big. It’s the Formula 3 -> Formula 1 that is big.
Epically off topic Joe but still F1…What did you think about the Okayama/Aida circuit? I know it was about a million miles away from anything else but I always thought it was a shame it went, the track provoked overtaking and was all started by someone with passion and good intentions.
Josh,
A million miles from anywhere. Loads of snakes and no hotels within half an hour. I don’t remember the race track being particularly special either. All in all. A really Noddy place.
It’s very harsh on the young guys involved, but who here wouldn’t give almost anything they could for just 1 season in F1?
They’ve achieved something most of us dream of, even if it takes them another 20 years to look back and accept that reality.
As to their future, I think DTM and other touring cars beckon, maybe a bit of Indy car? There’s certainly a marketing boost for a touring car team to have an F1 driver on board.
It’s all about the car.
I just read Alguersuari’s statement on the Autosport website and have to say that I have a boatload of respect for they way he is publicly handling it and the maturity of his statement thanking Red Bull for everything since he was 15.
A truly class statement that I hope others note as well.
Have a great holiday Joe.
While waiting for Force India to announce something I spotted this…
http://www.skysports.com/skysportsnews/video/0,,13987_7377979,00.html
It’s a new advert shot for Sky Sports F1 HD that was filmed on 14th December and features Paul Di Resta in the car (it’s definitely his helmet). This must be a good sign that he’s not getting the Buemi/Alguersuari treatment…
Doubt Sky Sports in the UK know more than the public.
More likely it was based on what was this season and the expectation that he will be there next season.
Even if he isn’t (which I’m guessing won’t be the case, i.e. he will be there), then it doesn’t matter that much. He’s a British driver used to advertise to British people mostly. Webber is used in Australia before he had his contract done for next year.
That makes sense, yeah. Just thought it might be interesting
Evening Joe.
I stumbled across this one about Alguersuari´s 2013 plans. What do you think?
http://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/f1-marko-tells-alguersuari-to-win-ticket-to-red-bull/
It is from http://www.motorsport.com
It surprises me how many people talk about fairness in regards to driver decisions. There is no such thing as fairness in F1. If we are talking about fairness, name another sport where a big check can gain you a roster spot on a team? F1 is a ruthless business driven by money and results. If you can’t bring either, there is definitely no place for you.
The one thing that troubles me is that these guys apparently had no clue at all that they were out, and they were apparently beginning to think they were set after enduring a year of knowing they were driving for their seats. Tost seems at this point to be very clear that Toro is a “rookie” or development team, but unless they had their heads in the sand the drivers weren’t made aware of the true nature of the situation. As Tost puts it now, it seems there was never a chance they would be kept on. It seems that either the Toro selection model recently changed, in which case Tost is spinning it to make the team look more fair, or Jaime and Sebastien were oblivious to the inevitable. Personally, the handling of these guys doesn’t make me feel to warm about Toro Rosso.