Red Bull retain Buemi as reserve for 2019

Sebastien Buemi has been with the Red Bull family for 11 seasons, kicking off with a test driver role for the senior team in 2008. He cut his teeth with Toro Rosso for three years, securing a best finish of seventh, but he failed to earn promotion to Red Bull and the Italian team decided against keeping him for a fourth year, leading to an uncertain future...

But Red Bull saw something in the Swiss driver and signed him up as their reserve for the 2012 campaign. Since then, he has fulfilled that role or that of test driver every year since and that partnership will continue into 2019 - a 12th year with the family.

Buemi hasn’t let a lack of opportunities for a full-time seat in F1 stop him racing. Quite the opposite in fact. And there’s been plenty of silverware racking up in his trophy cabinet.

He’s raced in the World Endurance Championship every year since 2012 with Toyota, winning the Le Mans 24 Hours with former F1 drivers Fernando Alonso and Kazumi Nakajima last year.

The 55-time Grand Prix racer secured the overall WEC title in 2014 and leads the way, along with team mates Alonso and Nakajima, in this season’s 2018-19 super series.

Buemi has also tried his hand at Formula E, winning the title, finishing twice runner-up and once fourth in four seasons.

He will dovetail his Red Bull F1 duties, as a reserve for race drivers Max Verstappen and Pierre Gasly, with the Formula E and WEC campaigns in 2019. Just think of the air miles he’ll clock up, eh?