Buemi happy to have secure ride

Buemi on a wet Algarve track

Heavy rain meant the final day of this week's F1 test in Portugal was a complete wash-out. Toro Rosso rookie Sebastien Buemi did a couple of installation laps in the F1 car in the morning, then in order to evaluate the track conditions again, he later went out for a further two laps in a road car. He may have been quicker in the road car!

“Being confirmed as a race driver for next year doesn’t change anything once you’re alone at the wheel, but in terms of working with the team, it brings an added sense of confidence, as the engineers and mechanics know they will be working with me all year," commented the Swiss driver after the session.

“From a testing point of view, the weather was a problem, with only a bit of time on slick tires on Wednesday. On Tuesday, there was such a heavy hailstorm that it was even hurting my hands and by the time I got back to the pits, I was just driving on ice and the car was going all over the place! I still have a lot to take on board, in terms of learning all the different procedures on the car, such as how to manage the starts, but everything is going in the right direction."

Scuderia Toro Rosso will resume testing on 10 February at the Jerez de la Frontera circuit in southern Spain.