Sebastien Buemi will continue to drive for Toro Rosso into 2010, the Faenza-based squad has confirmed.
The 21-year-old Swiss enjoyed an impressive rookie season in Formula 1 this year, scoring six of STR’s eight points and claiming all of the team’s three Q3 appearances.
Buemi has now become the first driver to be signed up by Toro Rosso for next season, although its other young gun Jaime Alguersuari is also expected to be retained.
“For the moment, the only confirmed driver to drive for Scuderia Toro Rosso in 2010 is Sebastien Buemi,” a Toro Rosso spokeswoman told itv.com/f1.
Having first tested for Red Bull’s senior team in summer 2007, Buemi stepped up from GP2 to replace the RBR-bound Sebastian Vettel alongside the vastly experienced Sebastien Bourdais at Toro Rosso.
Buemi quickly established himself as the faster of the team’s two drivers however, claiming two points on his debut in Australia and finishing eighth two races later in China on the back of his first Q3 appearance.
And although STR slipped towards the back of the grid thereafter, an upturn in form in the final two races saw Buemi claim top-10 grid positions and points finishes in both Brazil and Abu Dhabi.
Buemi’s second season at the team will seem him race with a car purely designed by the Faenza-based outfit, with Toro Rosso no longer allowed to base its car on that of sister team Red Bull Racing's.