According to Swiss newspaper Blick, it seems Red Bull's advisor Helmut Marko and company owner Dietrich Mateschitz will soon have a discussion about the future of the current Red Bull drivers, including Mark Webber, Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari. With the contracts of all these drivers due to expire at the end of 2010, the two will decide whether to bring in some fresh blood or stick to what they have in their garages for an additional year.
As far as Mark Webber is concerned, things seem to have already been decided. Although the Austrian team continues to deny the Kimi Raikkonen rumors, it seems the Finn will join Red Bull for the 2011 season of F1, regardless of the Aussie's performance this year.
Looking at STR's lineup, it seems that neither Buemi's, nor Alguersuari's seats are a sure thing for the 2011 campaign, despite the latter's impressive performance in Malaysia. The Spanish teenager scored a 9th place at Sepang, ending an 11-race drought in F1. That fell short of impressing the Toro Rosso officials too much, as the general opinion inside the garage is that Buemi is still the stronger competitor between the two.
“Alguersuari is three to five tenths slower than Buemi. For him (Alguersuari), the majority of the circuits are still new. But we can see him coming slowly closer to Buemi,” said STR's boss Franz Tost.
As the 2010 season unfolds, Red Bull will likely make a decision to let go at least one of their current STR drivers, as it appears Australian Daniel Ricciardo – currently reserve driver for the Austrians in F1 – is in pole position to secure a full-time racing deal in 2011. The meeting between the two officials will take place in the autumn, as revealed by the aforementioned publication.
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