History repeating itself at Toro Rosso?
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Anthony Davidson mentioned in the FP1 broadcast that paddock rumours are suggesting all is not well at STR. Apparently, Sebastien Buemi is under a lot of pressure from the team to improve his performances, even to the point of their frustrations being voiced over the radio.
Sounds very similar to what happened to Speed, Liuzzi and Bourdais when they were at the team. Why does STR have such a problem with managing its drivers? Will we see Buemi continue at Toro Rosso in 2011 – and if so, how long before he’s replaced?
Considering a few months ago there were stories running about a possible move to Red Bull in 2012 for Buemi this surprises me.
Then again it’s been over a year since Toro Rosso had a moan at a driver, so I suppose they’re due!
I used to be a big STR fan but the way they have treated their drivers has really put me off them. You think they’d learn by now that not clobbering their drivers may get better performances out of them.
I think Buemi’s had an alright season. Generally, he’slooked quicker than Jaime and before Korea had made a lot less stupid mistakes than his team mate. He’d also been taken out a lot at the beginning of the season.
If I was STR I’d keep him over Jaime and probably want to hang onto him anyway. He did lead at Canada too and that was some good publicity. I reckon they’ll sign him really late in the day and then boot him out next year unfortunately.
Considering a few months ago there were stories running about a possible move to Red Bull in 2012 for Buemi this surprises me.
Those stories were largely started by Buemi saying he had his eyes on Webber’s seat.
Maybe he should have had one eye on the road in front of him instead …
There must be a reason. If the team don’t think Buemi’s performing well enough, so be it. He may be under-performing, or the team may just have high expectations. It doesn’t matter.
At the end of the day, he’s employed by Toro Rosso to drive for them, and if he’s not up to the job, he won’t be around for long. Just like every other driver and every other team on the grid.
Toro Rosso just need some longevity. Stick with these two guys, nurture them, have patience, develop a decent car with them over the winter/spring break – be a team in it’s own right rather than looking up to Red Bull all the time.
Buemi under pressure? He’s beaten Alguersuari all year and had the crash in Korea but so what “Championship Leader Mark Webber” also crashed in that race.
I don’t see why he should be under pressure the STR has been rubbish this year and it’s been disappointing. I guess that’s what was to be expected of a “new” team.
For me Buemi has done a good job and has managed to get into the points when the car is good enough, including a stunning performance in Montreal. This is how the rumours started about him getting a Red Bull drive for 2012 as Helmut Marko said he was impressed by his performance in that race.
I don’t see why he should be under pressure the STR has been rubbish this year and it’s been disappointing.
Nope, me neither, Tom. But according to the rumours, he is. So something is seriously amiss at STR in my view. And, as I pointed out, they have form for this kind of situtation.
An STR race seat really is a poisoned chalice!
Buemi hasn’t beaten Alguersari all year.
DNF’s: Buemi: 5 Alg: 2
Who finished highest? : Buemi: 8 Alg: 9
Finished lower than quali position: Buemi: 8 Alg: 5
Just outside the points (11th or 12th): Buemi: 5 Alg: 7
Buemi’s got more points but that’s largely due to his 8th place finish in Canada. He’s made more mistakes, had more than twice as many DNF’s, and most worryingly in 8 races, he actually lost ground and finished lower (usually quite a bit lower) than he qualified. Alguersari’s consistently hovering around 11th or 12th, whereas Buemi is just as likely to crash out as to score points.
Coupled to that, he drove like a muppet in Korea, when his teammate handled the difficult conditions much better.
If I was to sum up Buemi and Alguesuari, it’s that the former is more solid and the latter more spectacular.
Anyway. Hopwfully Webber will retire, Red Bull will have no chance but to sign Buemi, Ricciardo will move into STR and then someone will buy the team and force them to get their act together, for crying out loud!
Well, I’d also like to see Jean Eric Vergne at STR with Ricciardo, so hopefully Alguersuari will ‘wow’ me and convince me he deserves a Red Bull drive alongsude Vettel.
no sympathy for the torro rossers, since they booted out bourdais,
anyway what do you expect with 2 less than average joes
sblot
Andy I know you’ve made your dislike of Toro Rosso’s driver policy clear before, but I think they’ve been reasonably patient lately. Assuming they keep the same driver line up in 2011 as planned, I’d say they were giving their drivers more than enough of a chance. You could argue Buemi and Alguersuari were fortunate to be retained for this season never mind next, so mediocre has their form been…
I don’t think Buemi will ever be more than a midfield driver, and if he gets a drive with Red Bull it’ll be a political decision, not one based on ability. Alguersuari I am willing to give the benfit of the doubt for now. I’d love to see him take a sabbatical year in GP2, then we’d see what he’s really made of
Ned, my point isn’t so much that Buemi doesn’t deserve to be dropped. He’s done okay but not magnificently. My point is that every year or so at Toro Rosso we get rumours of this kind, that drivers are being placed under significant pressure from the management. Quite apart from whether any driver would be able to perform to the best of their ability in such a hostile environment (some drivers might thrive on it, but not many), you have to ask why STR has such form for falling out with their drivers.
I think STR views drivers as dispensible assets, since there’s a healthy queue of Red Bull youngsters waiting in the wings, and whenever the team doesn’t perform to their expectations (which is always), it’s the drivers who carry the can. Perhaps they should concentrate on improving the car rather than blaming their drivers for their performance shortcomings.
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