Suddenly dumped by Marko: ''Still don't understand how that could have happened''
F1 News
- GPblog.com
Jaime Alguersuari made his Formula 1 debut for Toro Rosso in 2009, but succumbed to the huge pressure at Red Bull. The Spaniard, who at the time was the youngest driver to debut in the sport, talks about his time at Toro Rosso, the chance at Lotus and the unfriendly Christian Horner.
Halfway through the 2009 Formula 1 season Helmut Marko intervened at Toro Rosso. He deemed Sebastien Bourdais was no longer good enough for the seat at Red Bull's sister team, and Alguersuari was called up for the Hungarian Grand Prix. It was a huge surprise for the Spaniard, who at that time was driving in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series.
Dumped by Marko
''Yes, but I do want to say that I had a good relationship with him'', Alguersuari replied when asked if Helmut Marko is a difficult person. ''I will always be grateful to him, also the owner of Red Bull Dietrich Mateschitz. They gave me the chance in Formula 1, where I could mature as a human being. I feel privileged with that opportunity, even if I have also suffered enough from it,'' the Spaniard said to La Gazzetta dello Sport.
Alguersuari steadily improved in his F1 career, not scoring any points in first eight races, but scoring five in 2010. In 2011 he even managed to beat Sebastien Buemi, but it wasn't enough. Alguersuari rejected Lotus' advances for a seat in 2012, but was told to leave Toro Rosso at the end of the year.
''I still don't understand how that could have happened. I finished ahead of my teammate, and had even turned down a contract from Lotus to be teammate with Kimi Raikkonen (that seat eventually went to Romain Grosjean who scored ten podiums). There were a lot of positive sounds at Toro Rosso, but after an event in Madrid I was called by Marko that there was no chance to stay. I was hurt by the way I was treated.''
Unfriendly Horner
Alguersuari still drives some races in Formula E, but didn't get back into a car for a long time after being dropped by Toro Rosso. This year, due to the coronavirus pandemic, he got back into a kart, after his career as a DJ got more attention. The interviewer also asked about his relationship with Christian Horner, but there was no relationship there according to the Spaniard.
''That bond was not there, not even with Adrian Newey. Also not on the track. Christian was not really a friendly type. That was also because since 2010 we were building our own cars in Faenza, where I also lived. We had a chassis completely made in Italy. We only went to Milton Keynes to train on the simulator,'' Alguersuari concluded.