Far more important than scoring points – although that's a pretty bug deal in the series nowadays, with the prize money from the Bernie Ecclestone's Formula One Management and all – Alguersuari proved that he could resist pressure and push his poor STR5 challenger to the limit every time. Constant Q2 appearances, except for the season opener in Bahrain, and regular finishes, with 2 exceptions, have turned Alguersuari into a fine driver to watch in 2010.
Although he overtaken by his teammate Sebastien Buemi in the standings, it was the Spaniard who got all the praises from his team boss Franz Tost, as the Austrian sent a clear message for the upcoming campaign: watch out for Jaime Alguersuari!
“I think that he learned this season how to set up the car, how to drive the car, and I'm looking forward to the next season because I think he has matured enough to continue improving himself. But we must also give him the right tools. He still needs a good car, and then I'm convinced he can do an even better job,” said Tost.
Alguersuari first stepped into F1 last year, when he substituted ousted Sebastien Bourdais at Toro Rosso midway through the 2009 campaign. Having stepped into an F1 challenger without any prior such experience whatsoever, the Spaniard was given half of campaign to learn the ups and downs of F1 racing.
He was on the verge of losing his seat at the beginning of the 2010 campaign due to some sponsorship problems, but was saved in the eleventh hour and is now one of the team's main contenders for a promotion to Red Bull in 2012. Being that STR is practically a satellite team for the Austrian squad, Alguersuari himself set a clear goal to replace Mark Webber at Milton Keynes from as early as 2012.
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