The 19-year old driver made his debut in F1 last season, when replacing Frenchman Sebastien Bourdais in the STR roster. As stated by the team at the time, the initial plan was to let Alguersuari get used to the action of Formula One through the remaining half of the 2009 season, and give him a full campaign to prove himself the year after.
However, some sponsorship problems prevented the deal to be officially signed for 2010 also, as Toro Rosso had only confirmed Buemi for the FIA’s entry list. That led to plenty of speculation during the past couple of months, allegations that were finally put to an end late Friday, through a team’s press release.
“Considering that he made his debut only halfway through 2009 with no prior testing, he did a good job, making steady progress throughout the second half of the year, with a mature approach considering he is still only 19," said team boss Franz Tost, according to the team’s statement.
That being said, the Italian outfit will now focus on preparing their car for the Valencia test, due to begin on February 1. Unlike their bigger sister Red Bull Racing, the Faenza organization managed to develop their 2010 challenger in time for the first test meeting of the off-season, where they will join McLaren, Ferrari, Renault, Williams, Sauber F1 and Mercedes GP.
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