Sebastien Bourdais

The Scuderia Toro Rosso team confirmed on Friday that Sebastien Bourdais will again be driving for them for the 2009 season.

The 29-year-old Frenchman will compete in his second year with the team alongside the rookie driver Sebasien Buemi.

Bourdais said,

“It has been a very long and difficult winter, but now the waiting is finally over and I am really excited about tackling my second season with Scuderia Toro Rosso.  I would like to thank Red Bull and Dietrich Mateschitz for this opportunity to continue with a team that made so much progress last year.”

Takumo Sato, who had also been in the running for the second seat has said,

“I am not sure what my future holds, I will be discussing with my Manager what our next steps should be.  However, I strongly feel that I have unfinished business in F1 and that I still have a lot to give.  I am determined to stay in top level motor sport and I will be fully focused on making a return to F1 as long as any opportunity is there.”

Sebastien Buemi - Formula 3 Euro Series 2006

It was confirmed on Friday that Sebastien Buemi will be one of the drivers for the Toro Rosso team this season after admitting that he signed the contract three-weeks-ago.

Buemi has had the backing of the Red Bull team for most of his career and has gained valuable mileage in Formula One as their test and reserve driver.  Last year he competed in GP2, where he finished the season in sixth position for Arden International.

The 20-year-old, Swiss driver secured his seat after testing the car several times over the winter season and team boss Franz Tost said,

“We are delighted to welcome Sebastien, who was already part of the Red Bull family, to our team.  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.  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.”

Buemi said,

“I am naturally very happy to be driving Scuderia Toro Rosso this year.  Being a Formula One 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.”

Gerhard Berger

Former Formula One driver Gerhard Berger, has confirmed that he will no longer be a share holder at the Scuderia Toro Rosso team after Red Bull’s decision to sell the sister team.

Berger aquired 50% of Toro Rosso in a business deal in February 2006 but has now sold the shares back to the Red Bull team.

He said in a report to an Austrian newspaper that he had thoughts of pulling out when Dietrich Mateschitz, the boss of Red Bull, had talked of selling the team because of the changes in regulations for the coming season.

He confirmed that he would have been more than happy to continue with the team but could not fund the project by himself without the support of Red Bull.

The 49-year-old Austrian, made his debut into Formula One in 1984 with the ATS team and has not ruled out returning to the F1 paddock in the future.