Toro Rosso Introduces Innovative Strategy to Help Driver DevelopmentFranz Tost believes much of the team's misfortunes this year can be placed on the drivers. This is not unheard of with the team boss, as we have previously seen drivers such as Vitantonio Liuzzi, Scott Speed and Sebastian Bourdais unceremoniously dropped from the team despite putting in promising performances. Alguersuari, in particular, will be a primary focus with the team and this new angle on improving driver performance. There are rumors his job is on the line. But is this motivation enough? Perhaps it takes something more. Toro Rosso believe it might take putting your own
life on the line.
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The team has devised a new system in which a driver(Buemi, in this case) goes out and puts in a benchmark time. The fastest time is then analyzed and there are timed mines placed at each of the sector start/finishes, each set to detonate according to the sector time of the benchmark fastest lap. Which means that if you went slower, you'd live, but would be seen as slow, which to some drivers, is not a life they'd want to live. If you were merely 'just as good', you died. If you went faster, you lived. Quite the incentive, it seems.
Tost has also said it will make it easier to replace his mediocre drivers, as dead drivers contracts are no longer valid, making hiring a new driver much more convenient.
So far, the efforts have been working. And its rumored that perhaps as soon as next month, Toro Rosso will actually put Buemi in the precarious position of having to 'live up to' Algueruari's benchmark.