Helmut Marko is refusing to rule out a change of driver lineup for Red Bull’s second team Toro Rosso this season.

Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari are starting the year at the wheel of the Ferrari-powered STR5, but two highly rated Red Bull-backed chargers are waiting in the wings.

Of the pair, Daniel Ricciardo is the highest profile, testing the car at Jerez on Thursday and set to drive it on every Friday morning at the 20 grands prix this season.

But Marko, Red Bull’s inimitable driver manager, is also championing the cause of 20-year-old Frenchman Jean-Eric Vergne.

“In Ricciardo and Vergne we have two outstanding talents. Buemi and Alguersuari know that their job is not a pillow, and we are not a boarding school,” the Austrian told Auto Motor und Sport.

Former grand prix driver Marko has a reputation as a ruthless manager of drivers, not hesitating to pile the pressure on Toro Rosso’s current race lineup.

“Buemi’s services last year were not what we expected of him,” he warns. “Alguersuari has developed, but is it enough?”

Marko hailed Ricciardo’s raw pace, as demonstrated at the Abu Dhabi test last November, and said Vergne’s fighting spirit is unmatched.

“If our four drivers went side by side into a corner, I guarantee Vergne would come out the other side first,” he said.

Sebastien Buemi has joined Robert Kubica in praising the racing skills of F1 rookie Kamui Kobayashi.

After retiring at Suzuka with a missing wheel, Renault’s Kubica watched the rest of the Japanese race on a monitor.

“What Kamui did with his car was super.  Because I had to watch on television, he saved my day,” he was quoted by the Swiss press.

Toro Rosso driver Buemi has admitted he too is a fan of Japanese Kobayashi’s ability to overtake his rivals.

“It’s unbelievable,” said the Swiss.  “No matter what his car is like, Kamui always gives everything.

“For many, he is a model with regards to the fighting spirit,” Buemi is quoted by Blick newspaper, “even if of course such overtaking moves don’t always go well.”

He admitted he is disappointed not to have been one of Kobayashi’s adversaries at Suzuka last Sunday.

“Unfortunately he came out from his pitstop just ahead of me.  It’s a shame, because I love a tough fight with a really strong driver.”

Asked what his secret is, Kobayashi smiled: “Put it this way, maybe I brake a bit later than my opponents!”

Jenson Button loses world champion in the overall standings to fourth place in Singapore on the ground: “But it’s not over yet!”
McLaren is the big loser of the Singapore night. Silver Arrows, the British had to accept a pay freeze Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button made it with the MP4-25 just once in fourth. “It was not a loose race, but I had to do all the time pressure. It’s always sad when you give full throttle all the time and it still not enough for a podium finish,” said the reigning champion.

“At the beginning I have some spared the rear tires because we had noted on Friday that they do not keep so well. That gave me some help. In the final laps of the first stint I was therefore the gap on Lewis, because with him it looked like as if he had had problems with the tires, “said Button, who in the battle for third against Mark Webber had a chance.
“After the safety car period I was on the harder tire had problems with stability on the curves and output. I could not even keep up with the Red Bull, who had 30 laps on the tires on the clock,” reports the British McLaren on the issues. “This shows how fast the were and it shows that it was not an easy race for us.”

“The race was otherwise perfect for me, everything was simply not the pit stop was perfect -.. Probably the best all year, but the balance just does not fit,” said Button. “Our car was not as good here as expected. In qualifying we can get the best, but in the race it was really hard.”
“We hope so on the new parts of Japan. They were supposed to arrive in Singapore to the car, but it happened for reasons of reliability not. In Suzuka, we will hopefully have a competitive car,” says the 30-year-old. Positive the view is now ahead: “Suzuka should suit our car better to eat well for us, Singapore was the most difficult of the routes in the final stage..”

In the overall standings button is now only a fifth, 25 points behind leader Webber. “I’m still in the process,” the British fighting spirit. “Too bad that Mark Webber was able to land before us. But we are at points just from a racing game. It is up to the last race still everything is possible. I wish back the old points system. Then we could better see how close all lie together. ”

“You have to think positive but at this stage of the season,” said Button. “Lewis had today in the duel with Webber pitch. I do not know exactly what happened there. I have only seen that Webber has him forced out clearly. One bad race can be very cost much. My points of today are important, but actually would have to stand on the podium. “