While the rest of the pack are eyeing podiums and points at the season-opening grand prix in Australia, Sebastien Buemi’s goal is to see the chequered flag.
This weekend’s race at Albert Park will be the Toro Rosso driver’s first in Formula One after he made the step up from GP2 last year.
With Melbourne notorious for several accidents, the Swiss youngers says he is focused on finishing the race.
He told the official F1 website: “I don’t have any expectations. I want to finish the race. That’s my focus. Saying that scoring points wouldn’t be fantastic would be a lie, but it is not my main objective.
“I want to understand a lot about the car. And in the past Melbourne has always been a race with many accidents and casualties, so to finish the race is already a good point.”
Toro Rosso only launched their new car on March 9 – more than a month after all the front-runners unveiled their 2009 challengers.
The late launch means Buemi and Bourdais haven’t done a lot of mileage with the STR4 during pre-season testing.
Buemi admits the new car “feels different” to its predecessor, but is nevertheless confident it will be fast and competitive.
“It is hard to compare because due to the new regulations the STR4 follows a completely different philosophy,” he added.
“What I can say about the STR4 is that the team have put a lot of effort into this car – it seems fast and competitive, even in comparison with the old car – and that was bl**dy good.
“The driving with the ’09 car feels different, for sure. But then again it is only a Formula One car and the only demand for the driver is to go fast.”
Credit- PlanetF1
