Comments on: Sebastien Buemi confirmed as Toro Rosso driver for 2009

By: terrie cairnes

terrie cairnes — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 14:45:45 +0000

The seat should have gone to Pantano.He has more than proved his worth.What has Buemi done.Bourdais sato Senna and Digrassi are also exceptional drivers.Why not a seat for them.It should not be about how fast or how much money someone can bring.There should be a bigger picture.Experience and talent

By: Marcus

Marcus — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 15:52:13 +0000

No surprise there but cant understand why he gets that seat? He wasnt impressive at all in Gp2.

By: Ronan

Ronan — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 13:11:24 +0000

I’ll be dissappointed if Sato gets the other seat. With Honda potentially gone we could be looking at 18 seats in F1 this year and in my opionion there’s more than 18 drivers deserving of an F1 seat at the moment. So I find it dissappointing given the lack of seats that drivers such as Piquet, Sato and the unproven Buemi should be taking up seats while drivers who in my opinion have much more potential such as Pantano, Senna, Bourdais and Button are all left on the sidelines.

By: jose

jose — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 11:56:26 +0000

bialy, i imagine you are a girl. This is not a beauty contest.
The guy is fast, and we know what sato and bourdois are able to do.
Give all the new guys a chance, and if they can not be up to the job, send them to le mans, or the dtm.
I like these austrians from red bull already.

By: bialy

bialy — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 10:32:19 +0000

Finally someone uglier than Kubica

By: Stealthman

Stealthman — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 05:08:28 +0000

If it was a “facts and stats” article, the headline would be, “Toro Rosso breaks the record of most consecutive Sebastians”…

Indeed, Daniel. Good luck to Buemi – the latest in a string of Sebastians!

By: Daniel

Daniel — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 02:24:57 +0000

If it was a “facts and stats” article, the headline would be, “Toro Rosso breaks the record of most consecutive Sebastians”…

Well, seriously, Buemi might be good, but he is far behind Di Grassi, Senna, Grosjean or even Maldonado, in terms of GP2 pace, and doesn’t have Sato, Bourdais or even Pantano’s experience…

It seems money is by far his most important contribution for the team… as Chaz said, I’ll be happy if they prove me wrong

By: Chaz

Chaz — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 23:00:31 +0000

If only it were about talent rather than money. But then again that’s my own private pipe dream…

By: Eric M.

Eric M. — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 22:49:07 +0000

I too was hoping for a Sato/Bourdais lineup, though it’s been apparent for some time now that Buemi would be getting one of those seats. Oh well. I just wish they’d hurry up and make a decision about Bourdais. I think he performed well enough in 2008 to justify a drive for 2009. Well enough that I think it would be a mistake not to give him another chance.

I’m not sure what to make of Buemi though. As others have said he didn’t exactly set the GP2 world on fire, and he probably should be spending another season there. But he seems to be running very well in recent testing with STR. Have to wait and see I guess.

By: Chaz

Chaz — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 22:04:51 +0000

Oh dear. Good luck to him anyway. Money before talent (and I’ll be happy to be proved wrong by him) especially more so in these difficult financial times. Perhaps we should hope he proves a sensational racer, or crasher, kind of like Vettel before he got his act together.

By: StrFerrari4Ever

StrFerrari4Ever — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 21:57:12 +0000

well me being a toro rosso fan i think his a great addition but i agree with keith when he said in other atricles he needed another year in gp2 he didnt really show pace hopefully in f1 he will show us what his all about as for the other seat well Button i dont think thats gonna happen Sato maybe to ressurect his career and bring in sponsors and dont get me wrong Bourdais great driver but he didnt quite cut it with me last season i know everyone is saying give him one more year to show what his got but i dont think so.

By: Gman

Gman — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 21:42:39 +0000

Jess,

You do have a point. However, just remember that last season was the first in God knows how long where all of the drivers who were on the grid for the season opener were also still there at season’s end (except for Super Aguri, via no fault of the drivers). Contrast that to even 2007 when there were several changes, and perhaps we should question if some drivers are too secure….

By: Jess

Jess — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 20:59:45 +0000

I have to say that the high turn over rate in F1 is a bit disturbing. Very few drivers seem to last more that a few years if a year at all.

By: Pink Peril

Pink Peril — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 20:11:18 +0000

Disappointing, although not unexpected. I really think they’d do better with a Le Seb/Sato lineup.