Test drive = no drive

Having been chucked on the scrap heap by Toro Rosso (which is, of course, Red Bull Jr), Sebastien Buemi has been given the role of test & reserve driver for both his old team AND his employers.

Good, right?

Nope. There isn't a snowball's chance in hell he'll get a sniff of a run in the Red Bull - Webber and Vettel are highly unlikely to be giving up any mileage, especially during race weekends. And having decided he isn't good enough to race for them any more, Ricciardo and Vergne aren't going to be turfed out of their new seats at Seb's old stomping ground either.

Being a test driver means very little nowdays. I suspect his knowledge of the team and how they work will help the Toro Rosso boys understand where they're going wrong with set-up when the newbies won't have a clue. I also expect that's about it.

Turn the lights off when you leave, Seb.

(Poodle-permtastic '80's rock has me head-banging whilst typing tonight - which is quite tricky - in the form of Def Leppard's "Hysteria". \m/)

Comments

Malaysian Grand Prix - Vettel hot, but not bothered

Malaysia. It's always hot, and it always rains. Except the 2nd part is no longer true (unless you count the drizzly bit around lap 14). Saturday's qualifying session had highlighted the fact that Red Bull and McLaren seemed well matched on pace, but also that Ferrari were struggling. Whilst Vettel bagged another pole, followed by Hamilton, Webber and Button, Alonso was only 5th, and Massa 7th, with Nick Heidfeld an excellent 6th on the grid between the two red cars. At this point, I would like to break momentarily for a small rant: How many times do I have to say Heidfeld is good? Why wasn't he given a top drive years ago? WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?! ARE YOU BLIND!!!?? Ahem. The Hispanias somehow managed to a) turn up b) remember to bring cars c) get both of them on the track d) actually get both of them within 107%. Pretty remarkable really. Oh, and it didn't rain. Race day looked a more likely candidate for a drop of the wet stuff. The start was exciting, with

I know I'll regret this...

For @Feisty_Onion @BroughtonLass @LizWestmorland Me... before the grumpiness set in. Have a great weekend.

Senna bags Willy drive?

The great thing about F1 rumours is that they change every 5 minutes. Just last week it was looking like Barrichello might be back in at Williams, as new engines, tech staff and a general reshuffle would mean they needed someone who actually knew what they were doing in an F1 car. Which rules out Maldonado, obviously. Now it looks like Senna might be about to get a seat with the team where his Uncle lost his life. I'm sure Bruno's mum must be delighted. I don't hold with all this superstitious mumbo-jumbo though, and with the extraordinary level of safety in modern F1 cars, Bruno should be pretty safe. There is one significant problem with Williams signing him though - and this is going to be a bit unpopular I suspect - Bruno isn't very good. Yes, he put in a couple of reasonable performances with Renault, but Nick Heidfeld (ah... Nick and his lovely beard...) would have been able to do likewise, has he not been dropped. And then they dropped Senna too. Thi

grumpyf1

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