Helmut Marko tags Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari as non-winners – Formula 1 news
Helmut Marko believes Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari are not winners.
Marko suggested that the reason behind dropping the duo is because they are not considered winners. He went on to say that after three years behind the wheel, the management is in a position to assess the development of the players and as far as he is concerned
he did not see any development required to target the sharp end of the grid.
Earlier when Toro Rosso decided to cut their two drivers, they maintained that the reason behind the exclusion was that Toro Rosso wants to exercise Red Bull’s young driver programme to bring young talented drivers into Formula 1.
Alguersuari also expressed that although he was surprised and shocked at Toro Rosso’s decision to replace him, he cannot blame them as it was the same young driver programme that helped him to get a race seat with the team.
The pair has been replaced by Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne both coming through the young driver programme set up by Red Bull.
“Rookie training school and with over two seasons under your belt, you are no longer a rookie,” Marko told La Gazzetta dello Sport. He added that while both drivers were good enough to compete in Formula One, neither was good enough to win.
“Toro Rosso was created to give young drivers a chance,” Marko said. “Alguersuari and Buemi had it for three years and after this time it's possible to evaluate a driver's development. We haven't seen in them any possibility of growth. Both are worthy of
grand prix racing, but for us that's not enough: we need winners.”
Marko reiterated that the role of Toro Rosso remains the same to prepare the young drivers and give them an opportunity to move up in Formula 1, but they are still looking for drivers who can become future winners.
It remains to be seen how well Vergne and Ricciardo will perform in the upcoming 2012 season, but there are certainly high hopes for Vergne who impressed all during the young driver test held in Abu Dhabi in 2011.
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