Alguersuari confirmed as Bourdais’ replacement
After Sébastien Bourdais was ousted from Formula 1 last week, the Toro Rosso team confirmed today on its website the Spanish driver Jaime Alguersuari as his replacement. He will be the youngest driver in Formula 1 history and will participate in his first Grand Prix this Sunday in Hungary. Since the dismissal of Sébastien Bourdais, […]
After Sébastien Bourdais was ousted from Formula 1 last week, the Toro Rosso team confirmed today on its website the Spanish driver Jaime Alguersuari as his replacement. He will be the youngest driver in Formula 1 history and will participate in his first Grand Prix this Sunday in Hungary.
Since the dismissal of Sébastien Bourdais, several drivers could have been considered to replace him in the revised STR4 role. However, Scuderia Toro Rosso quickly highlighted Alguersuari, offering him a test and promising him the position of 3rd driver for Toro Rosso and Red Bull a few days ago. The 19-year-old driver was officially appointed this morning by the team.
Jaime Alguersuari won the British Formula 3 Championship last year and was racing this season with Trevor Carlin’s team in the World Series By Renault.
At 19 years, 4 months, and 5 days old, he will become the youngest driver in the history of F1 to participate in a Grand Prix. His teammate will be the Swiss driver, Sebastien Buemi. The two men have already known each other for several years, both being part of the Red Bull young driver program.
“I would like to thank Red Bull for giving me the opportunity to race in Formula 1,” he commented. “Since I started in single-seaters, it was my dream, and thanks to the Red Bull Junior program, I will be able to fulfill this dream.”
« I am aware of the challenge ahead; entering F1 is never easy, especially mid-season and having never tested with such a powerful single-seater. But I have been very well received by the team and we know their reputation for taking care of young recruits. » Finish in Spanish.
The director of the Faenza team, Franz Tost, stated he does not expect anything from the driver in the short term: « The objective of Red Bull Racing is to promote young drivers to F1 as soon as possible. Alguersuari was the most mature of the drivers in our development program. »
« I know that it is not easy to integrate into F1, and I am not expecting anything from him during the next three races. He will first need to adapt to the team, the environment, and especially the machine. It’s a challenge to overcome. »
Trevor Carlin, his current manager in the World Series by Renault, specified that Jaime Alguersuari could simultaneously continue his 2009 WSR championship if the two schedules do not overlap. Otherwise, Formula 1 would naturally be his priority.
The youngest drivers in F1:
01. Jaime Alguersuari (Hungary 2009), 19 years, 4 months and 5 days
02. Mike Thackwell (Canada 1980), 19 years, 5 months and 29 days
03. Ricardo Rodriguez (Italy 1961), 19 years, 6 months and 27 days
04. Fernando Alonso (Australia 2001), 19 years, 7 months and 3 days
05. Esteban Tuero (Australia 1998), 19 years, 10 months and 14 days
06. Chris Amon (Belgium 1963), 19 years, 10 months, and 20 days
07. Sebastian Vettel (USA 2007), 19 years, 11 months and 14 days
08. Eddie Cheever (South Africa 1978), 20 years, 1 month and 22 days
09. Jenson Button (Australia 2000), 20 years, 1 month, and 22 days
10. Tarso Marques (Brazil 1996), 20 years, 2 months and 12 days
