If you think you've got what it takes to be an F1 driver, you might want to grab a flight to Jerez, Spain, on the double, as Scuderia Toro Rosso bosses Gerhard Berger and Franz Tost have just landed there to evaluate new drivers for next year. Although they're clearly happy with the performance of Sebastian Vettel, who took a landmark victory at last weekend's Italian Grand Prix, the young German driver is being called up to the Red Bull senior team, leaving a vacant seat at STR.
Among the drivers Berger and Tost are evaluating are Honda-supported on-again-off-again F1 pilot Takuma Sato and the team's own reserve driver Sebastien Buemi, who just placed sixth in the GP2 Series. However Berger, himself a ten-time grand prix winner, says they won't make a final decision until November or December. With two-time world champion Fernando Alonso's future still up in the air, BMW's Nick Heidfeld, Honda's veteran Rubens Barrichello and Renault's Nelsinho Piquet could be up for grabs next season, making for enticing prospects to fill Vettel's vacancy after the team has shown considerable promise with last weekend's performance.
[Source: F1-Live, Photo by Peter Fox/Getty]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Sylbert @ Sep 18th 2008 8:08PM
So it's official?
Berger said in an interview after the race that since the toro rosso is the faster car vettel may or may not stay at str. Not that clear but you could red between the lines and get something like that out of it.
boisro @ Sep 18th 2008 9:51PM
I doubt it. Assuming the customer cars situation for 2010 doesn't change, Toro Rosso is going to have to develop their own car instead of relying on getting a carbon copy of the Red Bull car. And since Red Bull has one of the best chassis designers on staff, the smart money is on them being better than Toro Rosso in 2010.
While it may be better for Vettel to stay at Toro Rosso for 2009, there is no way Red Bull could get someone to just hold Coulthard's seat for him until he is ready.
So, I bet the Vettel will move on to Red Bull next year and the real results will show in 2010.
Oh, and I think Toro Rosso should grab Sato to pair with Bourdais. That's assuming that Heidfeld, Piquet, and Barrichello stay where they are.
nmt @ Sep 19th 2008 2:08AM
Christ, I hope Heidfeld doesn't return to BMW Sauber. That guy practically ran dead last in I don't know how many races while Kubica was barely a tenth of a second behind McLaren and Ferrari up in 4th or 5th the whole season. It's almost as bad as the difference between Alonso and Piquet. I wouldn't be shocked if Heidfield and Piquet both lost their seats. If BMW wants to win the constructors championship next year, they'd pay for Alonso. If they had Alonso this year they'd either be in 1st place for the constructors championship or damn close to it.
pmiddle5 @ Sep 19th 2008 3:22AM
Alonso would hate BMW cause then he'd have a team mate like Kubica to deal with. Heidfeld has placed on the podium more times then Kubica and has put in some amazing drives. Whats with the bias? Polish I take it?
nmt @ Sep 19th 2008 4:11AM
No I'm not Polish but I can count.
Kubica has 6 podiums this year. Heidfeld has 4 and Spa was out of pure luck on a huge gamble in the last 2 laps. Heidfeld has finished out of the points 5 times this season while Kubica finished in the points in every race he completed (he retired in 2, 1 of which was not his fault and the other was Silverstone where half the field spun off due to heavy rain).
Considering Heidfeld is driving the 3rd fastest car on the grid, his results aren't that impressive.
Alonso will do fine with any team that treats him at least equally with his teammate. Besides a team needs to think about how to win the constructors championship, and you can't do that with one of your drivers out of the points often. With Alonso and Kubica BMW would have the driving staff they need to score the kind of points that could challenge Ferrari for the constructors championship.
Roslan @ Sep 19th 2008 5:23AM
maby I can Have a seat in this team :)
http://www.roslan-racing.com
Robert @ Nov 3rd 2008 2:53PM
Hi,
I'll be in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain, in February 2009,
and I would like to go to the F1 Testing in February.
Does anyone know the exact dates?
Robert