Scuderia Toro Rosso have tied up their driver line up for 2009 by confirming that underwhelming Frenchman Sebastien Bourdais will stay with the squad for next season to partner Sebastian Buemi. The sound you can hear is Takuma Sato crying.
Bourdais struggled in his debut season in 2008, despite coming into F1 with a not inconsiderable reputation after winning four straight Champ Car series titles, but the Red Bull junior team have decided to go for parity in their second seat after losing Monza GP winner(TM) Sebastian Vettel to the main caffeinated team. This also saves money on branded merchandise as all they need to do for 09 is stick "Buemi" stickers over all the "Vettel"s.
The team confirmed that Bourdais would begin testing next week, and that he is certain to assume his place on the official entry list. Bourdais was under pressure from former Honda man Takuma Sato in particular, but clearly Dietrich Mateschitz has seen something the rest of us haven't.
"Now, I can focus on preparing for the coming season. It promises to be a very interesting one, thanks to all the rule changes," Bourdais rambled while wiping his brow in relief, before adding "I'm also looking forward to establishing a good relationship with my new teammate, Sebastien Buemi, to ensure both of us do the best possible job for the team and for Red Bull."
Meanwhile, STR team boss Franz "Burnt" Tost affirmed that "He now knows the F1 environment, the race tracks and the team. In addition, the slick tyres, which make a comeback this year, should suit his driving style very well." And that is quite a good point about the slicks, incidentally, which may well ensure that all of Patty's sarcasm here ends up coming back to haunt it.
The announcement from Toro Rosso means that all 18 confirmed drives for 2009 are now shored up, with the only TBAs remaining being for the potentially absent The Artists Formerly Known As Honda. Statistics should be forthcoming to prove that this was the dullest silly season in recorded history.
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