Toro Rosso and Honda choose youth over experience
Looks like Rubens Barrichello is out of a job. We hear that Honda has decided - at last - on its driver line-up for next season. And the two lucky drivers are… drum roll… Jenson Button (no surprise there) and Bruno Senna.
Senna’s name brings with it a lot of financial muscle - enough for Ayrton’s nephew to get the nod over Rubens and Lucas di Grassi.
With new rules in place for 2009, we would have stuck with the experience of Barrichello (Murray Walker agrees), who didn’t do much wrong this year. He may be getting on a bit, but he is still a great driver, with at least one more season in him.
We’re yet to be convinced that Senna is the real deal - hype follows him everywhere, but much of that is down to his famous surname. Senna II will struggle to match Button’s pace, no doubt.
Meanwhile, over at Toro Rosso…
STR is the only team apart from Honda yet to finalise its driver pairing for 2009. Swiss youngster Seb Buemi is 99% certain to take one of the seats.
How do we know? Red Bull owner Dietrich Matechitz said as much, in a recent interview with Autosport: “One will very likely be Buemi,” he confirmed.
That leaves one seat left to fill, and it’s a straight fight between Seb Bourdais and Takuma Sato. Bourdais is in the box seat, having driven for STR in 2008, but his team hasn’t exactly rushed to re-sign him. Sato offers more experience (albeit erratic experience) and, like Senna, more financial backing.
We’d stick with Bourdais, who deserves one more season to show us what he’s capable of - for the record, we predict Bourdais will get the nod to drive alongside Buemi. Sorry Taku, nothing personal.
6 responses so far
1 Templar // Nov 24, 2008 at 12:22 pm
Ok Zipperhead, your time is done.
its true Ollie, the Zipper didnt do too much wrong this year, but he didnt too much right. he is a middle of the road, stable driver.
Honda need a hard charger, Zippers days are long gone. Senna, may or may not be that driver. but they need to do something.
Getting Alonso would have been a godsend to them, but Fernando didnt want a suicide mission.
From a marketing POV, having a Senna in a Honda… well thats worth a million Zipperheads, even if their 09 results would be the same.
It is the only smart move for them to make.
2 A Ludlow // Nov 24, 2008 at 12:36 pm
I would have got rid of the useless Button! Will be interesting to see if Button really leaves Senna standing. I would find it hilarious (and not at all surprising) if it were the other way around. Button = the most overrated driver in F1 … or is that Alonso?
3 Templar // Nov 24, 2008 at 12:52 pm
Ha ha Ludlow… you cant be serious. Alonso overrated? even if you are brainwashed by the crappy itv opinions, they have to admit: (in their own words) ‘…Alonso is pound for pound the most complete racing driver in F1 today..’
Alonso is a 2 time world champion, who beat Msch twice.
Button won one race. go figure
4 Jack Daggers // Nov 24, 2008 at 3:24 pm
Shame about rubens… not the send off he deserved if he has been dropped. I think he stacked up very well against button in 08.
Beat him quite regularly towards the end of last season it seemed..
Still Senna looks like an interesting prospect..
5 jelena // Nov 24, 2008 at 11:24 pm
here’s the thing….rubens is OLD…too old to attract sponsors….and WTF IS UP WITH HIM BEING RUDE TO SCHUMACHER ????
he, rubens, let him pass EVERY TIME !!!
if he hated it sooooo much, he shouldnt have done it…..it’s stupid of him to talk so badly of something he did willingly for years, and now he’s ashamed of it.
HE chose to be ”the second driver”….and now he wants people to appologize to him for it…..GOOD RIDDANCE, I SAY !
GOOD RIDDANCE !
6 Ray // Dec 5, 2008 at 7:49 pm
Your inside information bites