Formula 1 News

Sebastien Buemi to race for Toro Rosso in 2009 

Young Swiss driver Sebastien Buemi has been confirmed at the wheel of one of Scuderia Toro Rosso‘s single-seaters in the 2009 season. The Faenza based team announced on Friday the deal with the 20-year-old, who will take Sebastian Vettel’s vacant seat after his switch to Red Bull Racing.

“We are delighted to welcome Sebastien, who was already part of the Red Bull family, to our team,” said STR Team Principal Franz Tost. “Our engineers have been impressed with his speed in the car and his ability to learn and progress during the testing he has carried out for us last year. That, along with some impressive performances in GP2 was enough to convince us to give him the drive,” he continued. “His appointment also fulfils the aims of the Red Bull Junior Driver programme and meets Dietrich Mateschitz’s intention to use Scuderia Toro Rosso as a showcase for young drivers the company has supported in the lower formulae,” he added.

“I am naturally very happy to be driving for Scuderia Toro Rosso this year,” commented the young Swiss. “Being a Formula 1 driver has always been my target, since I first started racing. This year, I will do all I can to bring home the best possible results and to show Red Bull that the confidence it has shown in me is justified. I want to thank Red Bull for this opportunity and for all the help they have given me in my career, dating back to 2005.”

Test and reserve driver for both STR and Red Bull, Sebastien Buemi was born on October 31 1988 in Aigle, Switzerland. Buemi, who competed in the GP2 series last year, was supported since the beginning by Red Bull Racing.