Feb.17 (PVM) Toro Rosso team principal has long acknowledged an accepted that his team is a finishing school for Red Bull Racing, and is also of the opinion that neither Sebastien Buemi or Jaime Alguersuari had the right stuff to progress to the world champion team in the future.
Toro Rosso shocked the F1 fraternity when it axed Buemi and Alguersuari from their driver line-up, replacing them with Jean Eric Vergne and Daniel Ricciardo for 2012 and beyond.
The decision was reportedly made by the energy drinks company’s F1 consultant Helmut Marko, and Tost says he fully supported the move.
“When we speak about the ‘right stuff’ for Red Bull Racing we are talking about a double world championship-winning team, which means that drivers who get elevated there must have the ability to win races and championships. And it was from that perspective that second thoughts set in when it came to Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari. Toro Rosso is a rookie team – and we will head into the 2012 season with two rookies. I fully support this decision,” Tost told the official F1 website.
Tost also gave insight into the decision which ultimately curtailed the career of two drivers, while launching two others into the big time.
“The ‘clean sweep’ was decided in mid-December. If my memory serves me well it was December 13. Every year at the end of the season we do an analysis of how things have developed over the past months, with particular focus on the competitiveness of our drivers in terms of qualifying, race and simulator performance. All this data is then put on the table and we discuss its significance,” revealed Tost.
He added, “The conclusion was that we had nurtured two drivers over three years and that we probably have other drivers in Red Bull’s pool of drivers who could also do a good job. On top of that we weren’t sure if our current drivers would really be the right stuff for Red Bull Racing, so we decided that Jean-Eric Vergne and Daniel Ricciardo should get their chance.”