Sebastien Buemi
- Published on Dec 9th, 2010 by The Badger
Credit: Red Bull Media
Life Before F1
Minimal, no surprise for someone who made his F1 bow aged 20. F3 Euro Series runner-up in 2007 (Romain Grosjean beat him by 11 points), he made a splash that same year with an impressive GP2 debut at Monaco. Returned to the category full-time in 2008 with Christian Horner's Adren squad, scoring two race wins on his way to sixth in the championship. Was then handed the daunting task of replacing Sebastian Vettel at Toro Rosso for '09.
Buemi raced for Christian Horner's Arden GP2 team in 2008. | Credit: Glenn Dunbar/GP2 Series Media Service
F1 Career
Buemi coped well upon entering F1, scoring two points in his first race and generally getting the better of team-mate Sébastien Bourdais. The Frenchman was fired mid-season leaving Buemi as team leader at the tender age of 20, as 19-year-old rookie Jaime Alguersuari joined Toro Rosso. Buemi ended the season well with points in both Brazil and Abu Dhabi.
He deservingly retained his drive for 2010 and again enjoyed better results than his team-mate, registering points in Monaco, Montreal, Valencia, and Suzuka to finish the season 16th, three places above Alguersuari. Got another contract extension for 2011.
That said Buemi hasn't yet shown he's ready to step in to the senior Red Bull squad when Webber calls it a day and needs to deliver more consistently if he's to be seen as a real star of the future. Rumours sprouted during the 2010-11 off-season that he'd be replaced by the emerging Daniel Ricciardo, and though the Aussie is now confirmed as the team's third driver the pressure is by no means off Buemi to deliver on-track.
- Credit: Red Bull Media
And another thing...
- Buemi's cousin, Natacha Gachnang, is also a racing driver. She has competed in various Formula BMW and Formula 3 competitions as well as FIA Formula Two, the GT1 World Championship and the Le Mans 24 Hours.
