Scuderia Toro Rosso announces all-new driver line-up for 2012

[DexDexter]

It looks like they're looking for people like Schumacher, Alonso, Hamilton or Vettel, who impressed ever since their F1 debut, and not always in fast cars. In that case, dropping Alguersuari and Buemi was the right call to make, because they aren't that good.

That said, letting Alguersuari without a decent drive (meaning anything other than a HRT drive) for 2012 looks rather harsh, because he has pulled off some nice performances during the year. Perhaps he hasn't been consistent, but neither have some drivers who are around in better teams. And he's only two and a half seasons into his career - apparently, he has speed, but delivering consistent results usually takes more than that.

I agree, Jaime drove some outstanding races particularly in the second half of the season. He was obviously developing all the time and now they just threw him away. That's ok in a way, but why on earth did they have to do it in the middle of December when practically all the seats are taken? That's just nasty for Jaime and Buemi.

[I am evil Homer]

Nothing personal against either new driver but I hope the 2012 car is an utter dog and they both fail miserably. Jamie was thrown into that seat with no testing and struggled liek hell but I thught this season showed real glimpses of maturing and his talent coming to the fore.

And now he's drive less. Class acts all round at STR and Red Bull management level.

[Bezza]

Problem is, if Toro Rosso produce a rubbish 2012 car and Vergne and Ricciardo are closely matched, how will anybody be able to tell if they are both really good drivers. There is no sufficient basis of a yardstick. The same as Alguersuari and Buemi.

They would've been much better dropping Buemi and promoted one of Ricciardo and Vergne to see how they compared against an established driver.

The whole thing is a load of nonsense.

I genuinely think Alguersuari is a really good driver, and he needs a second chance and a bit of luck somewhere to get another go.

[Robinho]

equally, if they produce a belter of a car and the 2 are equally matched and pick up a few top 6's or even a podium, everyone will proclaim them as the 2nd coming, when in reality the car might have been capable of more.

[Wim_Impreza]

Jean-Eric Vergne has impressed in F3 and in testing with the Torro Rosso. He may have sponsor backing but he is deserving of the ride.

That is the men who crashed into the pitwall at the Nürburgring on a straight earlier this year...

[jens]

Problem is, if Toro Rosso produce a rubbish 2012 car and Vergne and Ricciardo are closely matched, how will anybody be able to tell if they are both really good drivers.

It may not be an ideal situation, but team has many ways to analyze performance, like telemetry. An average F1 fan might find it difficult to tell whether both are really good drivers, but the team will know.

Just what is the RB driver program really for?

To find the next real ace? And in order to find him they need to go through many drivers, so can't keep the same ones for long. Also giving opportunities (even if short ones) to many drivers helps with marketing too, because in that way more countries and markets get covered by their F1 programme. So the strategy is that reasonably good ones are given a couple of years in F1. Those, who are vettelesque, will get more.

One problem though is that STR drivers find it difficult to negotiate with other teams. I am not really aware of their freedom in this regard and whether any team would have been interested in, say, Alguersuari. So they are sort of living in their own dimension, cut away from the rest of the F1 world.

[N4D13]

I agree, Jaime drove some outstanding races particularly in the second half of the season. He was obviously developing all the time and now they just threw him away. That's ok in a way, but why on earth did they have to do it in the middle of December when practically all the seats are taken? That's just nasty for Jaime and Buemi.

Tell that to Speed and Bourdais.

[wedge]

It may not be an ideal situation, but team has many ways to analyze performance, like telemetry. An average F1 fan might find it difficult to tell whether both are really good drivers, but the team will know.



To find the next real ace? And in order to find him they need to go through many drivers, so can't keep the same ones for long. Also giving opportunities (even if short ones) to many drivers helps with marketing too, because in that way more countries and markets get covered by their F1 programme. So the strategy is that reasonably good ones are given a couple of years in F1. Those, who are vettelesque, will get more.

One problem though is that STR drivers find it difficult to negotiate with other teams. I am not really aware of their freedom in this regard and whether any team would have been interested in, say, Alguersuari. So they are sort of living in their own dimension, cut away from the rest of the F1 world.

The problem is that RB are dealing with a conveyor belt youngsters. The reality is that there are very, very few drivers to be rightly regarded as special talent. What happens to those who don't match 'expectations'?

Most newcomers need nurturing. DC at times looked out of his depth for Williams, JB had no faith from Briatore but look how their careers turned out.

Jamie looked like a solid F1 driver at the very least and perhaps at least a race winner in the right car.

[ArrowsFA1]

So the strategy is that reasonably good ones are given a couple of years in F1. Those, who are vettelesque, will get more.

To be fair to Red Bull they have invested a lot of money in a lot of drivers and so far the real success of their programme has been Vettel (and a can of drink!), but as long as Vettel remains where he is there's really only one seat for another Red Bull driver to show their full potential, and at the moment that's taken by Webber. With so many drivers signed up it's inevitable that many will be discarded along the way.

I do wonder whether up and coming young drivers will be so willing to be a part of the Red Bull programme when they see drivers such as JA (who deserves more IMHO) out of a seat. I'm not sure he, or Buemi, could have done much more.

It's great having a ladder of talent but IMHO others have done a better job for the drivers involved than Red Bull. Look at the drivers who progressed through Paul Stewart Racing for example and excelled. Perhaps they did not do so in F1 (e.g. de Ferran, Franchitti) but PSR gave them an opportunity to develop and their careers benefitted.

[jens]

The problem is that RB are dealing with a conveyor belt youngsters. The reality is that there are very, very few drivers to be rightly regarded as special talent. What happens to those who don't match 'expectations'?

Most newcomers need nurturing. DC at times looked out of his depth for Williams, JB had no faith from Briatore but look how their careers turned out.

And indeed RB is looking for those very few special talents. Why should Red Bull endlessly support those, who do not 'match expectations'? What happens? Tough luck. Just like what has happened to Petrov and Senna. Do Lotus/Renault owe anything to these drivers to keep supporting them just because "they showed some promise"?

Red Bull has been 'nurturing' those drivers for a long time, not just F1, but also through feeder series.

Newcomers indeed need nurturing, but those drivers have got 2,5-3 years already, which is enough to establish yourself in F1. And this is way more than, say, Senna's half a year at Renault and people were arguing whether he proved himself or not. The difference with Button's early career is that all STR drivers have had the luxury to stay in the same team with stability to create an efficient working relationship, while Button had to leave Williams and re-build himself.

I think people are too negative. It is not appreciated, how much money Red Bull has been throwing in to support drivers through feeder ranks - without that support they may have got nowhere at all! This doesn't mean Red Bull owes them to support them all their careers.

Yes, tough for a 21-y-o Alguersuari, but if he is any good, he can still come back. Just he needs to look after himself now like many drivers have had to do - a way of maturing. Look at Wickens, he lost Red Bull support 2 years ago. Yet he has managed to come back and win WSR with alternative backing.