Alguersuari – Could Demotion lead to Promotion?
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So, Alguersuari (and Buemi) have been dropped from Toro Rosso in favour of Ricciardo and Vergne. In my opinion I feel Alguersuari had a mega impressive year and this is all a bit unceremonious, especially just hours after Alguersuari revealed that Helmut Marko told him to win a race with Toro Rosso in order to gain promotion to Red Bull in 2013. However, could this be a twist, could Alguersuari have been moved aside (possibly to Red Bull test driver) in turn for giving both Ricciardo and Vergne experience with the idea of moving Alguersuari to Red Bull in 2013 while keeping Toro Rosso with 2 drivers they’ve already had for a year? Your thoughts?
I don’t think so. If they thought Alguersuari is good enough to replace Webber, they’d keep him at Toro Rosso to get another year of experience. Maybe if he was to go to Red Bull for 2012, but that won’t happen with Webber staying.
I suppose it’s not completely outside the realms of possibility, but I think it’s highly unlikely. The best way to prepare Alguersuari for a Red Bull seat in 2013 would surely have been to keep him in a Toro Rosso seat for 2012.
If they thought Alguersuari is good enough to replace Webber, they’d keep him at Toro Rosso to get another year of experience.
It usually takes a while for a driver’s influence to be felt within a team. For instance, when Rubens Barrichello joined Williams, he didn’t really have much to do with the FW32. But when it was time for the FW33, he had a lot of input on what needed to be changed or what could be bettered. Red Bull would no doubt want to keep the momentum going when Webber leaves, and probably wouldn’t want to sacrifice a year of racing getting a feel for their new driver. With the return of in-season testing (admittedly only one test), Red Bull could feasibly put Alguersuari in a testing role, and keep him close for a season. That way, they could shuffle him into the deck for 2013 with a minimum of fuss. Given all the reports of his succinct and accurate feedback, he sounds like the kind of driver who would get along famously with Adrian Newey.
But I don’t think it will happen. I think Red Bull will back Jean-Eric Vernge as a fast horse.
I don’t see it. It’s clear that Red Bull see Jean-Eric Vergne and Daniel Ricciardo as the next Vettel, and probably see one of them as the ideal team mate when Webber moves.
That said, I hope Alguersuari gets a break elsewhere. I don’t see him at Williams (although HRT is a possibility, he is Spanish), but a leading GP2 or DTM drive could keep him in the picture. Then he just needs to sit back and hope for a miracle.
They said they wish Buemi and Alguersuari well in their press release, which sounds like goodbye.
Maybe they can get into Williams or Caterham.
I seriously doubt it. It is a sad state of affairs when a 21 year old driver, who clearly has talent, has been left in the wilderness. There aren’t many seats available at the moment, so his only changes of a race seat are probably at Caterham (because of the Red Bull technical tie up) or HRT (because it is a “Haven for the Spanish”.
a 21 year old driver, who clearly has talent, has been left in the wilderness
That’s the problem with Toro Rosso – they delay their driver annoucements until the end of the year so that there are only a handful of seats to go around. It makes it ahrder for someone to poach away talent.
I really hold Alguersuari highly, and think that with the right car and development, he could be a world champion one day. bitterly disappointed he’s been dumped like this. Buemi never did much for me, and I do understand why they’ve replaced them. I hope Alguersuari gets a seat with Caterham, as they are, like him, a team who are young and exciting.
It seems illogical to have him out of the race seat just to replace someone next season. It’s a good theory but it doesn’t just make sense. Verge is 22, Ricciardo is 21 and so is Alguersuari and he’s being tossed aside like he’s a old unwanted driver. I know he hasn’t been quick and it’s unrealistic to say he’s going to win races but he is a lot quicker than a few drivers on the grid. It’s stupid how they’ve just got rid of two drivers just because two others need a seat. F1 is a cruel sport as we all have heard but Jamie was a quick driver and was begging to become into his own and I honestly thought he could do well.
why would rosso tossers leave the driver announcement until now, so as well as chucking sb and ja out they also stick the boot in and leave them with little alternative for next season
I hope ja gets a drive next season , say williams or hrt and is able to rub markos and tosts noses in it.perhaps torro rosso should change their name to the above, its what they deserve
Just my thought it, Red Bull will need a resverve driver, who can’t be a Toro Rosso driver. Their other young blood are both far too young and they’ll want someone whose in the family. Plus, i think it’s highly likely Webber will leave or be pushed by 2013, thus meaning Red Bull have a free seat. I dont feel Ricciardo has proved his worth and Vergne, although he looks quick, will not be ready within a year. As, prisoner monkeys said, if Alguersuari spends a year at Red Bull, with in-season testing, he will learn the car and team well enough, and i agree he is the person who would suit a Newey car. I also think it’s wierd how Dr. Marko revealed the story about Alguersuari having to win a race next year to move to Red Bull, just 7 hours before they announced he’d be replaced, something fishy going on with Red Bull. But i agree, i don’t like the concept of Toro Rosso either and I also wish Alguersuari will find another seat. Caterham would be a good link-up because he is quite like Kovalainen and I think they would get on really well, but Jaime did say not long ago, if he’s not in Toro Rosso, he’s not in F1…
EDIT: I’d also like to add, having now read Alguersuari’s comments on this, the lad has such a calm and experienced head on his young shoulders. The boy speaks with such wisdom of such a cruel world and one can only hope his career continues. Apparently he may be in with a Red Bull test roll and swap with Ricciardo so Red Bull can see how he does in a bad car. Interesting to see though that neither Alguersuari or Buemi have actually been dropped from the Red Bull young dirvers programme yet.
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