Formula One news
'Alguersuari to replace Bourdais at STR'
13 July 2009Reports suggest that Spain's Jaime Alguersuari will be replacing Sébastien Bourdais at the Toro Rosso team for the remainder of the 2009 season. Much rumoured over past weeks, the switch would see the reigning British Formula 3 Champion become the youngest ever F1 driver at next weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix.
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| Alguersuari clinched the BF3 title for Carlin Motorsport in 2008 |
With another poor race for Bourdais ending with retirement and a sombre handshake with Toro Rosso technical director Giorgio Ascanelli at the Nürburgring, the recent gossip is seeming more likely to now be fact with Monday reports suggesting that the Frenchman will indeed be replaced and has therefore driven his in last F1 Grand Prix of the season.
"He's a very good driver," Alguersuari told Associated Press of Bourdais, "but it looks like this year he hasn't given it his all like he's supposed to; I sincerely believe that Red Bull's decision is just but it's never good to see someone taken out of a team halfway through the season."
At 19 years, 4 months and 3 days, Jaime Alguersuari is poised to remove the 1980 record from Tyrrell driver Mike Thackwell as being the youngest ever Formula One driver since the championship's inauguration in 1950. As part of Red Bull's young driver development programme, Barcelona-born Jaime - translating to 'James' - replaced Kiwi Brendon Hartley as reserve driver on 1 July.
Reports on Monday from Autosport also put forward the possibility that Spanish oil and gas company Repsol, a personal sponsor of Alguersuari, could be linking up with the Toro Rosso team next year. No spokesperson from the team was available to comment on the Bourdais/Alguersuari switch.
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