Jaime Alguersuari will join Toro Rosso for the next race at the Hungaroring, several sources are reporting this evening.
We took a look at the Red Bull Junior driver’s biography last week and he’s been on the radar for some time. But the consensus in the comments was he looks promising but might be a bit inexperienced for the drive.
As well as being the youngest driver ever to start an F1 race if he gets the nod for Hungary, Toro Rosso will have the youngest driver pairing ever in Formula 1.
Alguersuari will be 19 years and 125 days old on the Sunday of the Hungarian Grand Prix. He will be the first driver born in the 1990s to start a Grand Prix.
Although I can’t find any record of him driving an F1 car at an official session he may have done at one of the team’s straight-line tests. He has at least driven the Hungaroring this year, finishing fifth and 16th in his two World Series by Renault races.
Youngest F1 drivers
The youngest F1 driver to date was Mike Thackwell, who made his debut for Arrows in the 1980 Canadian Grand Prix aged 19 years and 182 days.
Alguersuari will become the seventh teenager to start an F1 race, joining Thackwell, Ricardo Rodriguez, Fernando Alonso, Esteban Tuero, Chris Amon and Sebastian Vettel.
Drivers as young as 19 in F1 may be nothing new but it’s striking how many of today’s driver made their F1 breaks at a young age. Here’s where some of them rank on the current ‘youngest ever’ list:
Fernando Alonso – 3rd
Sebastian Vettel – 6th
Jenson Button – 7th
Sebastien Buemi – 11th
Nico Rosberg – 13th
Rubens Barrichello – 15th
Felipe Massa – 17th
Kimi Raikkonen – 24th
Robert Kubica – 28th
Lewis Hamilton – 37th
Timo Glock – 40th
Alguersuari will join Sebastien Buemi at Toro Rosso. This will give the team the youngest driver pairing in F1 history.
Too young? Too inexperienced?
Inevitably, questions will be asked if having drivers as young as this is good for the sport and for them.
I think you have to judge them on their own merits – it clearly didn’t do Fernando Alonso or Sebastian Vettel any harm. Others perhaps should have had longer in the junior categories before stepping up.
Toro Rosso must be confident that, in Alguersuari, they have another Vettel on their hands. But looking at Alguersuari’s career to date it’s hard to see the same sparkle.
Yes, he’s the reigning British F3 champion, and plenty of those have made it into F1. But he’s not really produced the goods in World Series by Renault this year. Vettel, on the other hand, dominated Formula BMW in 2004 (18 wins from 20 starts) and won his first two races in the same series Alguersuari races in now.
Do you think it’s too early for Alguersuari to make his F1 debut? Is there much point in dropping Bourdais for an even less experienced driver when the team’s cars are stuck at the back of the grid to start with?
Or is just more proof that Toro Rosso exists merely to blood young drivers for Red Bull? Have your say below.
Read more: Jaime Alguersuari (Meet the Rookies)
Andy
13th July 2009, 21:14
When on Earth did he get his super licence?
This is a stupid, stupid move by a team that has completely no idea. Perhaps they want to use him in a practical training scheme to teach trainee mechanics how to mend busted-up cars.
Let’s just hope no-one gets hurt when he crashes.
TommyB
13th July 2009, 21:27
How do you know he’ll crash. Piquet crashes in every race and he did well in the lower Formulas. Don’t judge him till you see him drive.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
13th July 2009, 21:40
Piquet, of course, was the last British F3 champion to graduate to F1. And the one before that was Takuma Sato. Not that there’s a pattern here…
TommyB
13th July 2009, 21:48
Haha thats pretty funny :P
Achilles
14th July 2009, 6:50
Rubens Barrichello, beware! in fact any driver over the age of 30 in F1 should be thinking hard, there are lots of these hungry young drivers out there looking for the opportunity……
Michel S.
14th July 2009, 6:57
Incidentally, Barrichello is also a British F3 winner, and his overtaking style does leave some to be desired as well, especially this year…
TommyB
14th July 2009, 10:10
People saying he is too young look at
Fernando Alonso – 3rd
Sebastian Vettel – 6th
Jenson Button – 7th
He is starting in a smaller team like these guys and could learn a lot
frecon
13th July 2009, 21:44
He got the superlicense when he won the British F3.
Without test in F1, is really hard for young drivers have some experiene with F1 cars.
TommyB
13th July 2009, 21:49
He has tested an F1 car. Its hard for any new drivers to get into F1 because of the stupid testing rules :(
Tom
13th July 2009, 22:06
if he has only done a straight line test in an f1 car, bring him in for monza!
TommyB
13th July 2009, 22:26
He drove at Algarve in the Toro Rosso
mp4-19b
14th July 2009, 3:50
flop show. i’m sure of it. this guy is just too young,too inexperienced.
Daniel
13th July 2009, 21:25
Lets hope he knows what a blue flag means…don’t want him getting in the way of a championship battle or even worse take one of the Brawns/Red Bull’s out of the race….
Though another thought, maybe they are bringing him in to help Red Bull win the championship….?
eg – hold up cars in qualifying, hold up cars in the race, take out a few brawns…at least they’d have “he is inexperienced” as an excuse.
TommyB
13th July 2009, 21:41
Why are you so anti-young drivers. All the old farts like Trulli, Rubens, Fissi are rubbish :P
mf
14th July 2009, 16:34
Are you his manager or something??
pete
26th August 2009, 9:10
rubbish huh? tell that to RB now.
Williams 4ever
14th July 2009, 2:48
I think Daniel you have got this one right.. He must be hired with intention to mess up with Button’s F1 campaign in favor of RedBull Senior team, by bungling with Blue flags :P
TommyB
13th July 2009, 21:30
So please with this. I’m a big Toro Rosso fan. Me and my gf went to World Series and tried to see Jaime in the hope he’d drive for Toro Rosso one day. We met him and he signed our tickets along with Brendon Hartley :)
I was sick of Bourdais at least Toro Rosso know when to get rid of useless drivers. Renault have been keeping Piquet, Williams keeping Nakajima, Mclaren keeping Kovalinen.
So many average f1 drivers in f1 now.
Kovy
13th July 2009, 23:58
I feel sorry for Hartley. He picked the worst time to quit his job as Toro Rosso test driver.
Williams 4ever
14th July 2009, 2:51
He didn’t quit team released him in favor of Jamie Al who is rumored to get Repsol Monies Redbull’s Toast
HG
14th July 2009, 5:13
no, according to hartley he quit.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/motorsport/2566517/Hartley-puts-focus-on-racing
Ronman
14th July 2009, 7:48
Renault have been keeping Piquet, Williams keeping Nakajima, Mclaren keeping Kovalinen.
TommyB, It’s all about the Money, markets etc etc. well except for Kovi, Mclaren needs someone average so that he doesn’t interfere with Hami’s conquests.
Renault are doing a big push in Brazil and they need Piquet’s name to help move metal off the showroom floor.
Williams are stuck with Nakajima because of Toyota… you should know that.
and in case alguesari does turn a wheel in Hungary, it’s because his dad possibly invested in the team in someway or the other. because as i see it, he cant get the drive on merit(he’s got none in F1), so money is the driving force…
TommyB
14th July 2009, 10:03
I do know that I’m just saying it is a shame they hve to pick rubbish drivers
DaveG
13th July 2009, 21:35
I’m not apposed to young drivers.
I am disappointed in Torro Rosso for wanting to cut Bourdais loose. They don’t have a quick car, and they are slow with the improvement upgrades. They’re supposed to have a major update for Hungary so I don’t see why they can’t give Bourdais an updated car and see how well he can do.
There’s not much coverage on Red Bull, I would love to see how hard he is trying to drive that car. You can see Alonso and Hamilton pushing they’re troubled cars very hard.
TommyB
13th July 2009, 21:51
Hmmm everyone said he would do well this year with the new rules (like slicks) because of how good he was in America. He gets beaten by a 20 year old consistently and has been at the back of the grid more often than not
just me
14th July 2009, 5:34
Bourdais drove well in the 24hr LeMans this year. That’s the kind of car he belongs in. In F1 I was disappointed to see him outqualified by a rookie 7:2 (I believe). He had plenty of chances but did not deliver. Time for STR to move on.
STR’s move now in mid season is optimal given the silly testing constraints which force teams now to provide ‘on-the-job-training’. How rebuilding the car 3 times per race-weekend helps to cut costs I have no clue. But rules are rules, not?
It will be very interesting to watch STR again. No risk, no glory. Keep my fingers crossed ;-).
Hakka
14th July 2009, 15:12
I think should Bourdais should be relieved this disaster doesn’t continue any further. He is incredibly talented and he needs to go to a series where he can play from his strengths. Going by his performance in Le Mans, I have no doubt he’ll do well for a while to come.
Boston F1 Fan
13th July 2009, 21:43
– Wasn’t there some other Toro Rosso/Red Bull driver who they introduced too early and then burned out? It was some years ago.
Michel S.
14th July 2009, 7:03
Enrique Bernoldi. My only positive recollection of him was when he held his composure .. and David Coulthard .. (for 40+ laps!) in Monaco.
There was almost a repeat of the Schumi-Coulthard Spa 98 dust-up afterwards. Funny that DC did not remember when they brought the issue back up during BBC’s coverage last weekend…
Sush Meerkat
13th July 2009, 21:46
Burger has gone hasn’t he?, since he’s gone its been an all out domination of Torro Rosso being a test platform for other teams, Bourdias’ “redundancy” merely reinforces that.
New drivers bred from STR, old engines used, things like that.
Sush Meerkat
13th July 2009, 21:50
edit I meant to add that their is no point in STR existing like it does using old Red Bull parts and old Ferrari engines if all they are gonna do is not be used for given a driver “another chance”
DeDe MakeShift wants it as a test bed for his Red Bull sponsored talent that he can train up to championship standards under the Red Bull “Wings”. It would be he ultimate marketing coup, what if Bourdias then went on to win the Championship?, it wouldn’t be thanks to Red Bull.
But if Vettel, Buemi or Algeuierissesses (him on the pic) goes on to win the Championship, guess what? they are Red Bull talents and Red Bull get to say they helped them greatly.
Ronman
14th July 2009, 7:55
very sharp view on things…plus you have to factor in the can selling variable…
Patrickl
15th July 2009, 0:59
Oh come on, Ferrari asked (told) them to put extra mileage on their friday engines.
You make it sound like they are driving with hand me downs from Derrari.
frecon
13th July 2009, 21:48
I think is too early for Jaime.
Last two years i have read some interviews with him, and he always said that he want to drive in F1, but he also wanted to complete all the previous phases. I hope Toro Rosso doesn’t burn one of the most talented young drivers.
Hammad
13th July 2009, 21:56
They shouldnt be dropping Bourdais at all. Why go for an unproven commodity? I guess they are just a testing ground for Red Bull..
just me
14th July 2009, 5:38
People keep forgetting that STR won their first race before RBR. So much for the ‘testing ground’ theory ;-)
Michel S.
14th July 2009, 7:06
That was before Renault was allowed to tweak their engines, was it? RBR was underpowered for most of last year, as was the works Renault team.
TommyB
14th July 2009, 10:19
Renault still managed to win a race
Nirupam
14th July 2009, 11:28
In fact two!
Oliver
13th July 2009, 22:08
Perahaps Bordais has a performance clause in his contract that stipulates he must win a race this season. The team as a whole seems to have lost direction.
Williams 4ever
14th July 2009, 2:55
He may fare better if FIA deems his Panoz pwoered Champ car campaign car legal. I am sure that will be more faster than what STR are offering him right now as car that is just Work in Progress model to test part for Senior Redbull team
steve o
13th July 2009, 22:11
It is sad to see Bourdais go although he wasn’t doing himself any favors by acting negative. I understand his race engineer from Newman Haas,
Guillaume “Rocky” Rocquelin was brought in to help him. I think he just couldn’t get a grip on the car which requires a different driving style than in Champ Car. Added to fact that car was just not fast enough and it makes for a bad situation. Remember he finished second at Sebring and Le Mans and probably should have won the latter.
No small feat.
Jaime is not going to be any faster . Could be even worse by getting in the way .
Toro Rosso is just trying stuff because they have a F1 version of
Attention Deficit Disorder ” .
Williams 4ever
14th July 2009, 2:57
Chalky
13th July 2009, 22:41
I’m not agianst young drivers, but in this case I would be disappointed to see Bourdais booted out half way through the season.
Both Buemi & Bourdais have had 2 collison accidents.
Spain was due to Trulli spinning taking both out.
Monaco – Buemi hits Piquet
Britain – Bourdais hits Kovi
Bourdais has one other mechanical retirement.
Otherwise Beumi may have qualified better, but Bourdais raced better. It’s pretty even in my eyes and would rather see them continue for the remaining season. Why jump half way through?
Maybe what sealed his fate more was his 2008 season in comparison to Vettel?
Maybe Torro Rosso will now just go for a quick fix rather than improve the car. Is Alguersuari a ‘quick fix’? I’m not so sure.
Williams 4ever
14th July 2009, 3:00
All valid points, Biggest problem is Tost didn’t like Sebass to start with, remember the time he took to sign the Frenchmen almost the day before the season started in March.
Keirdre
13th July 2009, 23:06
People were talking in this way when Kimi Raikkonen got his F1 seat with only 23 car races to his name, and having never driven a race longer than half an hour. He was given a 4 race superlicense (I think), and lots of the older drivers were complaining about his experience…and then he drove to 6th place in Melbourne on his debut!
Andy
13th July 2009, 23:20
If this guy does that, I’ll eat my hat. And it’s a damn big hat.
frecon
14th July 2009, 0:18
Be careful, Toro Rosso will have new aero from Red Bull next GP… ;)
By the way, I have read that Alguersuari is going to drive only two GPs, and in case Toro Rosso would be happy with his performance, then he’ll finish the season. Apparently this is only a test
Jay Menon
15th July 2009, 9:44
This is exactly what I was thinking. When Kimi was coming in, everybody was against it, I guess he showed them.
I don’t know, I kinda have a good feeling about this kid, he looks confident and he must have something to him. I just hope that something isn’t a certain corporation called Repsol. We know he’ll bring in good cash, but I don’t think STR need cash too badly now do they?
We have to ask ourselves, out of all the dirvers out there, why would the replace an under performing driver with an unknown kid? There’s more to this…we’ll wait for the Hungaroaring before passing judgment.
John H
13th July 2009, 23:41
Everytime I hear Bourdais he just moans, so perhaps the team just got fed up with him. Fair enough.
But with no testing, this is going to be pretty crazy going for Alguersuari – but this sort of thing used to happen in the olde days so why not… it’ll be interesting viewing that’s for sure.
Williams 4ever
14th July 2009, 3:03
Every time I hear Tost, he just moans, perhaps dietrich mateschitz should do to Tost what Tost has been doing to STR drivers ever since the toast-burger duo took control off the team on behalf of Redbull magnate from Paul Stoddardt
F1Outsider
14th July 2009, 0:25
With Friday drivers being a thing of the past and test drivers amounting to being errand boys, it makes sense to bring in a young inexperienced driver in the middle of the season.
So to have 7 or 8 no-pressure races to get aquainted with the car and team will give him a chance fine tune his race craft and hit the ground running come Australia 2010.
pride
14th July 2009, 0:47
I was a big fun of Bourdais. I do believe this season has not been good, but not that bad. I think it is very silly to drop him as many has said when the new pakage is comming and the team needs point. I find strange that first they choose Hartley and then all of a sudden they decide to change him for Alguersari, and then put him in a race car with no test experience at all. When they dropped Speed first he got many clashes with Tost, while Bourdais not. They replaced him with a guy like Vettel who had the kaiser backup, many miles of testing, a gp and a fastest lap on a Friday practice. It was a wise risk.
With Buemi pretty much the same in the testing side. But putting a 19 year old in a car with nearly nothing of F1 experience is a crazy decision.
I think that a intended rumour from the Spanish press has sparked this and Bourdais with his bad attitude with the press has made his situation worst.
I have many doubts that he will be dropped, and I will beleive it when there is an official confirmation.
Otherwise I think its pure media speculation.
Williams 4ever
14th July 2009, 3:09
You are right on Money, its just not enough to be good driver in F1, how you keep PR with F1 Press/Pundits decides how your career will pan out. If(and while) you are good with them you will get all sorts of titles “Smoothest driver” and what nots, else what starts as “mur mur campaign” rests only after your F1 career is done with
jess
14th July 2009, 0:52
STR Car is junk this year, Too bad for SeaBass, but this is typical of STR. Kick the driver out mid way. Well Once that is confimed I bet IRL Owners are going to light up his phone. Then again there is a chance of another team picking him up but I dought it. Well there also the ALMS series he could shine in.
Ronman
14th July 2009, 8:06
good thing they didn’t kick Vettel out when he crashed into Webber 2 years ago…. seeing the volatility of their driver roster.
although Torro Rosso were my favorite B team last year, this honor goes to Ferrari this year. but I’m very disappointed to see them let Bourdais go knowing that it’s not all him but the crap car he’s driving.
TommyB
14th July 2009, 12:34
Kick a drive out? Its good. Because Bourdais was crap. Scott Speed was crap.
More teams should kick there crap drivers out. The grid is full or rubbish drivers this year
Damon
14th July 2009, 13:07
No, the grid is full of rubbish cars this year.
TommyB
14th July 2009, 14:30
True but each team (apart from RBR and maybe Ferrari) have a good driver and then a drive that isn’t so great.
Damon
14th July 2009, 15:06
So??
TommyB
14th July 2009, 16:28
So its F1 and it should be the best 20 drivers in the world but yeah its all about the money now
persempre
14th July 2009, 17:13
It pretty much always has been, TommyB. Even before sponsorship F1 & motor racing in general were never cheap sports to take part in. At least now there is somewhat less of the pay-driver going on & most drivers are there on some sort of merit.
That may change with the new teams, though.
F1Fan
14th July 2009, 1:02
To counter this move by STR, Ferrari should bring back Scott Speed as Massa’s replacement.
Hakka
14th July 2009, 15:31
I hope you’re joking – Massa is the one “older” driver who seems to improve with time. Ferrari’s investment in him is paying off quite well, given his performance last year.
F1Fan
14th July 2009, 16:53
What improvement ??? He still hasn’t won a championship, still doesn’t have the **consistent** speed needed for this, and he can still not drive in the wet. He is only good for 3-4 race wins in a season and usually at his strong tracks (Bahrein, Turkey). That will not win a championship. With Kimi gone next year, now is the chance for Ferrari to start fresh. Massa will never win a championship. He is simply not that good.
persempre
14th July 2009, 18:12
Other than the 4 drivers in what are currently the best 2 cars, Felipe is top of the rest.
He has more points than Alonso, Raikkonen & Hamilton all of whom are Champions.
I think he deserves more credit.
Patrickl
15th July 2009, 1:02
Bwahahahaha
Brian
14th July 2009, 1:03
Remember the race last year when Vettel won at Monza? Do remember that Bourdais qualified in the second row? He has had glimmers of hope, but unfortunatley in that particular race, he had a problem with his gear box and got stuck on the grid.
He will go back to Indy Car next year. Maybe Torro Rosso will replace him with Villenueve to help bring up S.Buemi next year.
Chalky
14th July 2009, 9:17
That’s another good point for Bourdais. I forgot about that. Overshadowed by Vettel again, when he could have pulled off a great result too.
Sebastien Carter
14th July 2009, 1:07
One thing that sticks out for me is that he is 19 years old…
As an avid f1 fan with dreams of being an f1 driver when i was younger…this is a rather large blow to my hopes. Younger than me and already in an f1 seat.
There’s always next year I suppose!
Michel S.
14th July 2009, 7:10
You do have the proper name to race for STR though — keep on hoping!
Ronman
14th July 2009, 8:08
LOL
timmyM
14th July 2009, 2:21
hell, there’s no pressure is there?
buemi’s been doing a good, if inexperienced job of it. exactly what you’d expect, but occasionally impressive, all things considered.
bourdais, who you’d expect to shore up the team with a few points here and there, hasn’t been able to stay out of the wars despite his experience. He hasn’t been able to score the points that the team needs, this season or last. Yes, we all love him, no he’s not good enough. (Taku, anyone?)
so for TR, where’s the pressure? stick with the “old bloke” that’s not scoring the points you should be getting given last year’s performance, or take a punt on someone new? they did that with buemi and won, why not go for broke?
Williams 4ever
14th July 2009, 3:12
Yup Buemi is setting the track on Fire, driving the dog of STR to points finish every race….
manatcna
15th July 2009, 2:28
How is that?
That would mean he has at least 9 points.
Last time I looked it was 3
(And 2 for Bourdais) I’d say it was pretty close.
manatcna
15th July 2009, 2:29
Oh, I see.. It was a joke :)
Jonesracing82
14th July 2009, 3:10
i personally dont think he’ll do any better than Bourdais is doing now!
as u say, he’s not driven an F1 car that we know of, with Alonso and especially Vettel, both had test driven F1 cars b4 making thier debut, i am however a touch unsure on alonso, but Vettel did the BMW test drive in ’07
Nirupam
14th July 2009, 11:36
Alonso didnot do the testing job prior to joining Minardi, Did he?
TommyB
14th July 2009, 16:44
Nope you never know he could become the new Alonso. He could not. Judge him when he actually starts racing
PrisonerMonkeys
14th July 2009, 5:38
I think there should be some kind of age limit as to when a driver can join the grid. Alguersuari is nineteen, Vettel was a similar age when he started, as was Button. Hell, the name Conor Daly is rumoured to be spoken over at US-F1 and he’s only [i]seventeen[/i]. Drivers shouldn’t be competing until they’re twenty-one, or at least until they’re at the age where they can hold a full road-going licence.
persempre
14th July 2009, 17:17
That’s 17 in the UK.
Brian
14th July 2009, 5:54
It should be the best of the best, but yeah, no one younger than 18. Any younger than that and the kids parents could techincally say “NO” and that would be that for another year at least. Algusari is old enough, we just have to let him prove himself. Although, Hartley should be the one that got that job. Or being a Canadien as I am, Wickens. lol
Ronman
14th July 2009, 7:33
Is he actually fit to drive? or is it his father’s wealth that is doing the talking? saw on TF1 a report that the guy’s dad is loaded and possibly to be involved. that would prove right in case he does land the wheels of the Torro Rosso.
but i dont like him already because of this: he says on f1-live, “He is 30, he has a daughter, has won four championships in the American Champ Cars, won the F3000 here in Europe and, honestly, is a highly trained driver,” Alguersuari told Radio Catalunya. “But it seems that this year he has not given it everything, as he should have.
where does this kid get off? no respect to Bourdais? common who is he to judge, he hasn’t driven an F1 car ever, how can he tell that the guy isn’t giving it enough? maybe he is, but the car is truly rubbish, and the only reason Buemi is outdoing him is that buemi is young enough to be able to muscle a car around and adapt to it without any prior habitude. whereas an older driver has a certain style, and would refuse to change it to suit the car. (that what i think hapens between experienced and not so experienced driver when they are with a so and so car. specific driving habits and techniques are hard to loose)
Chalky
14th July 2009, 9:21
That annoyed me too. The only way to answer this is for Alguersuari to seriously out perform Buemi on his debut.
sumedh
14th July 2009, 12:31
+1
He hasn’t driven an F1 car for more than a lap, and here he is slagging off Bourdias.
The unanimous winner of the “Drivel of the day” contest = Alguersuari
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
14th July 2009, 14:01
Aw, I have to give up my crown?
GIFTEDbutLAZY
14th July 2009, 9:39
I think any replacement for Bourdais is worth a shot. I do rate him as a racing driver, but not in F1. Poor performances coupled with frequent crying and whinging mean that I won’t be sorry to see him go!
TommyB
14th July 2009, 10:13
Completely agree
Red Andy
14th July 2009, 10:11
Alguersuari will also be the first ever F1 driver to be younger than me. Now I really do feel old.
PJA
14th July 2009, 10:26
I know what you mean, I am in my late twenties now and while I don’t really feel that different from when I was younger this is the sort of thing more than anything else that makes me realise that I am in different age group now.
When I was a teenager people in the public eye such as new bands I liked, F1 drivers or footballers were always older than me but now they are younger than me, and yes I know that late twenties is still young before anyone says anything.
just me
14th July 2009, 17:28
To make you guys feel better: It goes quickly downhill from you are ;-) !
I grew up watching Jochen Rindt and Jackie Steward. These were men then. Heroes!
Times change.
Now the time is running out for my grandkids to make it into car racing. If you don’t start at 4 you’ll never make it into F1 by 19.
By 27 the journalists start already mentioning your advanced age when a few races go wrong. By 38 (Rubens age, I believe) you are definitely considered a Dinosaur and now they throw the ‘honorary’ records into your face: “Longest stretch w/o win” or “oldest driver ever in F1 who did XXX”
PJA
14th July 2009, 10:12
With the trend this decade for hiring young drivers I was surprised to read that the youngest F1 driver to date was from 1980.
When the rumours started after the first few races about Bourdais and Piquet being replaced before the end of the season I didn’t think it would happen mainly because of the testing ban.
While I can understand why Toro Rosso would want to drop Bourdais after his performances so far, if it is true that all Alguersuari has done in a F1 car is some straight line tests then I think it is a big risk to change drivers if what they after is improved results this season.
If Toro Rosso defiantly intended to give Alguersuari a race seat next year then there would be some logic in bringing him in early this year to get experience as long as they decided to ignore his results this season and didn’t decide to drop altogether if the worst happened and he qualifies last every time and ended up crashing each race.
TommyB
14th July 2009, 10:15
Can I just say remember the last time a 19 year old spaniard got the seat at Faenza… He went on to be a double world champion
mani
14th July 2009, 10:38
There can be a ridiculous theory to go with, but certainly, though I write it I’m not going with it. If Hartley had chosen to part STR in a hard way, in light of his own racing career (considering the restricted testing mileage, it is hardly anything a reserve driver in a F1 team gets – that too on a current back-marker team like STR). Then, STR might well have chosen to replace Bourdais to show Hartley that he had really missed something out there, though it was not meant to happen if Hartley stayed with them. :)
Just a theory, because when I first thought of it, there is nothing that STR gains with Bourdais currently. Even if it is gonna be the case with Alguersuari, they lose nothing… but if he can make a difference – say outperforming Buemi – that is an achievement in itself which Bourdais can’t do.
Either way, in my opinion it is not the best choice to make and at the same time not the worst.
John H
14th July 2009, 13:48
Alguersuari has already had a go at Bourdais then. Big mistake – he clearly should have kept his mouth shut until he starts to deliver.
I hope he’s not an ****.
TommyB
14th July 2009, 14:32
I dont think he had a go. He just said Bourdais has done great in the US but hasn’t been doing well in F1 which is true.
persempre
14th July 2009, 13:50
Lack of years doesn’t mean much but lack of ability or right attitude do.
If young Alguersuari has been round telling people that Bourdais is on the way out (as reports suggest) then he’s already blotted his copybook along the entire length of the pitlane.
What team wants a driver who broadcasts their business before any official statements are made?
Bad move, Jaime. It’s another show of putting personal ego before your team & you’ve only just got a oot in the door.
persempre
14th July 2009, 13:51
lol – oot? Take your choice – foot, boot – any other offers? ;)
Red Andy
14th July 2009, 15:44
Bandicoot? Not sure what one would be doing in a door, however.
manatcna
15th July 2009, 2:38
A Scottish Oot (Out)
Maksutov
14th July 2009, 16:13
I agree.
Brandz
14th July 2009, 16:10
he has no hope, his names not sebastian
Mike
14th July 2009, 21:28
Maybe its a case of lightning not striking twice, they’ve won with one sebastien/sebastian, time for a fresh name in the team don’t you think?
Maksutov
14th July 2009, 16:54
In regards to the question if having drivers as young as this (19yo – Alguersuari or whoever) is good for the sport?
It is a difficult question, I guess 19yo is ok, but if it was any younger I would say no.
There needs to be some age limits put in place to prevent this from going too far. I mean, whats next? 18yo, 17yo, 16yo? A bloody child!? If this is not monitored, soon we will be watching children race in formula 1, and that I have no interest in.
For these gifted young drivers until they become professionals (meaning gain experience) they need to stick with Kart, F3.. etc until they gain enough experience and reasonable maturity.
F1 is about experienced and advanced professionals. Lets take for example football (soccer) players, do you wanna watch junior soccer players or the pro’s!? Nobody can ever convince me that in terms of reflexes, accuracy, speed, endurance, strength and agility that drivers younger than 25y means better, that is totally and utterly false. In fact the older drivers as old as 25yo are far experienced, a lot smarter and equally as sharp and fast. And no matter how fast young rev heads think they are, they do not poses the experience, understanding behind safety, respect to other drivers, respect to their team, understanding of the car, understanding of the mechanisms involved in building and preparing and conserving the cars.
F1 should be about professionalism, and experienced and gifted drivers – all of those elements put together. Not just one.
persempre
14th July 2009, 17:48
Without the regulations being changed you won’t see driver ages coming down significantly.
We will probably see more young drivers but that’s because drivers are starting motorport earlier & more are coming up through the ranks at a younger age.
The minimum age for an FIA International Drivers’ Licence is 16 years before 1st January on which the licence would be valid. This can be waived but only under certain conditions including 2 years of ASN competition.
The Grade A & Super Licences are needed for F1. Grade A are issued by the drivers’ ASN & has stipulations like the driver must have been placed in the first 5 (I think) in 5 events in the last 2 years.
To get the Super Licence necessary for F1 the driver must hold a current Grace A plus meet one or other of a choice of requirements.
So, while I take your point, Maksutov, I don’t think there’s any need to worry.
If a young driver is a menace his licence gets revoked as happened with Ide.
adz2193
15th July 2009, 0:38
Does anyone remember when Bourdais ran 4th on his debut but was foiled by an engine failure?? And when he got that drive thru in Japan, robbing him of I think 6th? The rain screwed him of another top 6 finish in Belgium. Although he only out performed Vettel a handful of times, its not like Webber, a proven, experienced driver, has done THAT much better.
Excluding Buemi, Bourdais is the most inexperienced driver on the grid along with Piquet and Nakajima, so I think releasing him at this point is harsh, especially as they’re bringing in a kid who has never driven an F1 car. When the field is as close as it is now, chances for points are going to come along regularly and I can’t see Alguersari being able to take these chances, while Bourdais has done once or twice this season. That’s the kind of driver STR need right now.
Patrickl
15th July 2009, 1:20
The British F3 is not really the top of F3 anymore is it? I thought most F1 drivers are coming through the Euroseries since that started.
To make matters worse he’s hardly impressive in the World Series By Renault. Giedo van der Garde won there last year and he is now way down in GP2. So I guess that class doesn’t say much either.
Seems a bit of a weird choice.
Is this really the best driver Red Bull has available in their program? Don’t they have something in GP2?
Even if not, maybe that Russian is still available. He looks quite impressive. Would be a good new demographic for selling cans too.
dsob
15th July 2009, 5:03
I see it’s pretty late in this discussion, but I thought I’d toss in my 2 cents anyway.
Ah, yes, the good old days. And let’s not forget Juan Manuel Fangio, who won at Silverstone in 1956 when I attended my first F1 race. Back in the days when older was better, and experience was indeed often a driver’s best friend. But, too true, things do change. In those days, it was man & machine, the strong and willful driver taming both track and car, not a driver/technician in a million dollar computer with wheels with 40 people and 3 million in computers planning the race strategy.
Well, in point of fact, young people now routinely outshine their elders in these areas, particularly in reflexes, speed, agility, accuracy and strength.
And these kids DO have a lot of seat time, by the time they get to F1, many in as much as 10 years of driver developement programs.
Gone are the golden days of Leave it to Beaver, where all kids thought about until the age of 18 was riding bikes and playing catch. We live in a quite different world, now.
We live in an age of technology, where worldwide news is at ones fingertips, and 14 year olds are as well versed, or sometimes better versed, on world affairs as adults. And frequently just as jaded. It makes for maturity at an earlier age.
These days, most 6 year olds can whip an adults butt at pretty much any video game you’d care to name-reflexes and speed, and sometimes endurance.
The teenagers these days getting F1 seats have been racing since they were children. Many of them have spent years in a Constructor’s driver developement program. (McLaren & Hamilton comes to mind there.)Heck, at 16 or 17, my biggest car related worry was getting to second base with the cheerleader in the backseat, not planning strategy to win that season’s GP2 title.
Yes, they are frequently brash, cocky verging on arrogant (Hamilton in his first season, for example), but are quite capable of learning to pilot an F1 car.
And with a season or two under their belt, they gain the experience–racing as well as life experience–to allow them to feel more settled, and they learn to moderate their comments (Hamilton again comes to mind, lol)about the sport and other drivers.
Formula 1 these days is a sport for the young. With some exceptions, a driver IS pretty much washed up in his late 20s or early 30s. And I believe we will see this trend continue.
And now you point out Button & Webber, and say I’m full of daisies. Well, I DID say there were exceptions, didn’t I ?
As an aside here, lest anyone think I was knocking Lewis Hamilton, let me say I consider him a talented and gifted driver, though I did put him in that “brash and cocky to the point of arrogance” category early on. Hamilton now is quite different than in his first year in F1, far more seasoned and mature. I like Lewis Hamilton as a person now a lot more than I did in 2007.
Maksutov
15th July 2009, 8:04
dsob:
yes, but I am talking specific age 25, or 16. There isn’t necessarily much difference between those ages in terms of those properties discussed, but there is still a big difference in level of maturity.
I generally agree with that for some things. But not in the age difference that I was discussing about. Having kids exposed to complex technology early doesn’t necessarily make them smarter. In fact surveys done at Universities now days regarding the ability of students to grasp complex information in areas such as physics, mathematics, science is no better now then it was a 100 years ago. Humans may have more exposure to complex technology at early age noways, but that doesnt mean their ability to grasp and process that information is any better to humans who have lived within the past 500 years. So what I am actually trying to say is while young kids learn complex stuff at early age these days, they still lack the same ability to mature and gain experience that comes with life and comes as function of time (t). Humans have not yet evolved that far, it takes thousands and thousands of years for that to happen. And so the age difference now between 16 or 25 certainly is nothing when it comes to their ability and rate at which they grasp information, but it is a massive difference in the amount of information collected and in terms of the knowledge understanding and maturity, the age difference there is almost 1/3 of their life. I again same goes for agility, strength – look at for example some of the most famous soccer players, they become exceptionally good specifically in the ages after 20yo, eg. 20-25yo, now days Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi come to mind. So no matter how good those players were at ages 16, they were way better at age 20+, and they will get even better at age 25-30.
Yes well exactly, so it takes a season or two. And I am just saying that regardless of how good these young drivers are they should be placed through a system to enable them to gain as much experience and maturity before entering F1. If they are good at 16, well they can only get even better at 20-25.
jason
15th July 2009, 5:07
ha ha ha ha sucks for bourdais but a driver that does nothing of any importance no wins, nothing and is little more than a back marker or obsticule to lead to the first lap crash he is a no talent waste of a driver spot thank god the teams are wiseing up i would be scared if i were any of the following, piquet, nakajma sutil, fisichella, Kovalainen, glock, kubica, the other team should wise up and replace them before they ruin the 2009 season as well as the 2010 season. also have strong hope the 2 retards in in red cars will be replaced with a true champion ROSSI!!!! FTW
EGG
15th July 2009, 13:07
http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/090715115336.shtml
He is testing the Toro Rosso on friday
savage
16th July 2009, 7:58
STR all the gear and no idea .
A heavily revised car for hungary and they want to put a rookie in the seat the data recovered will be worthless , change one thing at a time .
Bourdais should be allowed to finish the season or atleast participate at hungary then we can see if the car is a leap forward or the driver not good enough.