Formula One news

Tost impressed at Buemi form

Formula One newcomer Sebastien Buemi has enjoyed a strong start to his Formula One career, having scored points in two of the three races so far. Team boss Franz Tost has responded with the frank reply that he did not expect such strong showings from the 21-year-old rookie.

The Swiss driver finished eighth in Australia which became seventh after the disqualification of Lewis Hamilton, and took another point in China last Sunday. "We did not expect him to score points during the first three races," Tost told Autosport. "We expected him to increase his performance from race to race, and then score in the second half of the season; we are not dissatisfied that it's in the first half of the season, as long as the amount of points is doubled or tripled in the second half.

Toro Rosso team principal Franz Tost

"He did a good job in China; in really difficult circumstances, he didn't make a major mistake. He did touch Sebastian Vettel once, but touching a Red Bull car is all part of the education process with Toro Rosso!"

Buemi, the youngest driver in the current field, began karting at the age of five in 1994, and more recently finished sixth overall in the GP2 Series of last year. "He had some very good races in GP2, and he did win races (2)," Tost confirmed. "It was a combination of his good GP2 results, his performances during the tests and that he is a Red Bull driver (young driver development programme) - all of these factors together led us to the decision that we should take a risk with him."

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