Sebastien Buemi, third driver for Red Bull, headed to Ferrari?
While the Swiss driver still hopes to make his return to the grid in 2013 with Force India or Lotus, he could ultimately, according to the Swiss press, end up at Ferrari. The Maranello-based firm, which would thus acquire one of the key men of Red Bull's success in 2012, would offer him in return greater future prospects, in an equivalent position, than at Red Bull.
Without a drive in Formula 1 since the end of 2011, Sebastien Buemi nevertheless covered more than 20,000 kilometers in 2012 in the Red Bull simulator, where he serves as the third driver for the team, now a triple reigning world champion. While Red Bull seems satisfied with the work done by the Swiss driver and has expressed its willingness to continue the collaboration in 2013, Sebastien Buemi has never hidden his intentions to find a seat for 2013, with Helmut Marko himself assuring that the Austrian team would not oppose it.
Appointed candidate, due to his nationality, for a spot at Sauber, Sebastien Buemi today has his eyes turned towards Force India and Lotus: “I am waiting for Force India’s response and everything doesn’t seem very clear at Lotus,” recently said the Vaudois to Blick. “Fortunately for me, most teams haven’t forgotten me. There’s nothing more I can do.”
But it is ultimately at Ferrari that Sebastien Buemi could make a comeback in 2013… as the third driver. Indeed, according to *Blick*, the Swiss could replace Jules Bianchi, the current reserve driver for the Scuderia, who is the favorite to succeed Nico Hülkenberg at Force India.
The Maranello team could thus take advantage of the experience Buemi acquired at Red Bull during the past season, while the Swiss driver, by joining the Scuderia, would see new opportunities open up for him to hope for a return as a main driver in 2014. The Vaudois’s prospects are indeed somewhat limited at Red Bull, as Toro Rosso is no longer an option and Mark Webber’s seat seems destined, in the more or less long term, for one of the young talents from the Red Bull program. However, by joining Ferrari, Sebastian Buemi would effectively become one of the contenders to succeed Felipe Massa, whose contract runs until the end of 2013, and could potentially open doors to the teams to which Ferrari supplies engines.
If currently Ferrari seems no longer able to place its protégés as it could in the past, with the case of Jules Bianchi being the proof, it might be different by 2014. Rumors in the paddock suggest that Toro Rosso might abandon the Italian V8 for a Renault V6, and Force India could seize the opportunity to switch from Mercedes to the Ferrari engine. Therefore, by joining Ferrari this winter, Sebastien Buemi might aim for a seat at Sauber in the winter of 2013/2014, replacing Esteban Gutiérrez or Nico Hülkenberg – who only has a one-year contract -, or even at Force India, where Paul di Resta has already expressed his desire to move elsewhere for 2014.
