Jaime Alguersuari says it’s unlikely that he will be on the 2013 grid, despite having been assured of a seat with a “team that usually scores” points – thought to be Force India.
The Spaniard was dropped by Toro Rosso at the end of the 2011 season after he and team-mate Sebastien Buemi were replaced by Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne.
He secured a Pirelli test driver role for 2012 whilst working on a return to the grid for the upcoming season. The 22-year-old says he had been assured of a seat, but that now looks very unlikely.
“I never imagined that after Red Bull’s incomprehensible decision not to count on me in 2012, having done my best sporting season in F1 [in 2011], I would have to fight so much outside the track before finally assuming that in 2013 I will not be in F1,” explained Alguersuari.
“I assure everyone that I have been convinced for most of the 2012 season that my seat was secured in a team that usually scores,” he added. “So they did tell me and I believed it to be true.
“Due to this conviction I passed up other opportunities in other championships,” he said in reference to missing out on a DTM drive.
He also hinted that money played a part in him losing out on the seat, describing the current situation in the sport as “an auction”, whereby pay drivers are now the preferred choice for midfield teams.
“Those who committed themselves with me have given me reasons that I must accept but that I do not share. F1 has become an auction.”
Alguersuari is however convinced that his career in the top-tier of motorsport isn’t over: “At 22 years old? Despite everything, I strongly don’t think so.
“So I will continue to be active in Formula 1 [as one of Pirelli’s test drivers], and complete more kilometers than any third driver in this discipline.
“I know how old I am, I know my track record and I’m convinced that I deserve a winning car in F1. And I will keep fighting for it.”
