01/10/2015
NEWS STORY
Former Toro Rosso driver Jaime Alguersuari is quitting motorsport to concentrate on a career in music.
Alguersuari, winner of the 2008 British F3 Championship, with Carlin, was appointed reserve driver for the Red Bull teams in 2009 following the decision to drop Brendon Hartley.
The Spaniard subsequently made his debut in Hungary, after Sebastien Bourdais quit Toro Rosso. Starting last on the grid due a mechanical issue, Alguersuari (at 19 years and 125 days) became the youngest ever driver to start a Grand Prix, and only the seventh teenager.
Retained by the Faenza outfit for 2010 and 2011, Alguersuari gave a number of impressive performances, not least an duel with Michael Schumacher in Melbourne in 2010. In 2011, amidst rumours of Daniel Ricciardo being brought in, Alguersuari scored points in six races, qualifying an impressive sixth in Belgium.
However, at season end, along with teammate Sebastien Buemi, he was dropped in favour of Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne.
Following two years as test driver for Pirelli, the Spaniard spent 2014 in ADAC GT Masters before heading to Formula E with Virgin Racing.
Having finished fourth in Buenos Aires, Alguersuari missed the final rounds of the season due to minor health issues which caused him to faint at the end of the 2015 Moscow ePrix, subsequently being replaced by Fabio Leimer.
"I decided to stop because it's time for change," he told a press conference. "Something inside me says it's the moment to take a different path because I think I have fallen out of love with this girlfriend who has been with me all these years.
"I could continue competing but I'm stopping," added the Spaniard, who has spent much of his spare time working as a DJ and composing.