by Evander Klum
It is official! BMW Sauber F1 team's test driver Sebastian Vettel will now go behind the steering wheel of a Toro Rosso F1 car. Vettel, the third driver of the German F1 stable will be replacing Scott Speed as the driver for the Scuderia Toro Rosso. BMW Motorsport said they released the 20-year old youngster to earn his opportunity to drive in F1 aboard the Toro Rosso STR2.
BMW trained Vettel since his inception to the team from the 2006 Turkish Grand Prix. The 20-year old driver from Heppenheim, Germany has already posted several milestones in his career and in the Formula 1, either good or bad. He was the youngest driver ever to compete in a championship Grand Prix race, the quickest driver to get a fine in Formula 1, the sixth youngest driver to start a Grand Prix career, and best of all, Vettel was the youngest driver that scored points in a Grand Prix race (during the United States Grand Prix ).
Mario Theissen, the Director of BMW Motorsport commented about Vettel's release. He said: "As our test and reserve driver Sebastian has carried out sterling work for us. When he stood in for Robert Kubica in the USA Grand Prix he made history by becoming the youngest debutant to earn a world championship point. "
Theissen added "However, the current testing rules mean that he barely gets a chance to drive for us. Now he has been offered the opportunity to get inside a Toro Rosso cockpit. We have sponsored and coached Sebastian over a number of years. To place obstacles in his career path now would go against our concept of talent promotion."
Theissen continued: "BMW and Red Bull have a longstanding partnership in supporting Sebastian. Toro Rosso is the sister team of Red Bull Racing, and in that context it makes sense for us to release him. In a sponsoring partnership the main thing is to use the best opportunities that present themselves to a young driver at any given time."
Another German driver, Timo Glock will replace Vettel as the official reserve driver for BMW Sauber. Glock currently leads the GP2 championship race.
Toro Rosso will replace Scott Speed because of his poor performance along with teammate Tonio Liuzzi, according to -owner Gerhard Berger and team principal Franz Tost. In addition, Speed also said he will not work with Toro Rosso anymore as Tozt approached him physically after the race in the 2007 European Grand Prix at Nurburgring.
F1 fans are now looking forward to see Sebastian Vettel riding on a Toro Rosso race car (with KYB shocks maybe). Will Vettel perform better and score points for Toro Rosso? Well, just find out when he enters another Grand Prix race this season.
About the Author
Evander Klum is a Business Administration graduate who hails from Alabama. He enjoys extreme sports and he is also a car racing fanatic. At present, he works as a marketing manager at an advertising agency in Cleveland.
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