Swiss driver Sebastien Buemi continues in Formula One this season after being confirmed by the somewhat-improved Toro Rosso outfit.
After graduating from karting, Buemi spent 2004 and 2005 in German Formula BMW, finishing third and second in the Championship respectively.
The following season he made the move to A1GP where he shared duties for A1 Team Switzerland with Neel Jani and Marcel Fässler. The team finished eighth in the Championship.
However, it was in 2007 when the Red Bull-backed driver really began to make a name for himself, signing with ART Grand Prix to replace the injured Michael Ammermüller at the Monaco GP.
Buemi qualified fourth and finished seventh, earning himself a race-seat with Arden International.
He scored his first win in GP2 in the French sprint race, starting 21st on the grid on slick tyres on a drying track and benefitted when most of his rivals had to pit for slicks. He clinched one other win to finish sixth in the Championship.
His partnership with Red Bull, which saw him test for their F1 team in 2008, landed him a trial with Red Bull-backed Toro Rosso outfit, during which Buemi proved he has the speed to compete in F1.
In January 2009 Toro Rosso confirmed Buemi and almost immediately he paid the team back for their faith in him, claiming three points in the opening three races.
However, a slump in form from Toro Rosso, who struggled to repeat the previous year's success, meant a long wait for the next points, which finally came at the penultimate race of the season in Brazil when the Swiss driver finished seventh. Buemi followed that up with another point in Abu Dhabi, bringing his tally for the season to six.
And although still at the very start of his learning curve in F1, Buemi will need to up his game in 2010 if he hopes to avoid Toro Rosso's history of replacing drivers mid-way through a season.
