Robert Kubica and Sebastian Vettel have already led the way and today another World Series by Renault driver graduates to Formula 1. Jaime Alguesuari joins Scuderia Toro Rosso ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix, but still keeps one foot in Formula Renault 3.5 for the next meeting at Portimao.

Formula Renault 3.5 Series is once more proving to be the ideal stepping stone into Formula 1, with the promotion of Jaime Alguersuari to the position of official driver with Scuderia Toro Rosso. Like 2005 champion Robert Kubica and Sebastian Vettel, promoted to F1 in mid-season in 2007 while leading the championship, today it is Jaime Alguersuari’s turn to reach the highest echelon of motorsport. At just 19, the Spaniard will also be the youngest driver in history on the starting grid of a Formula 1 Grand Prix.

Jaime Alguersuari is a pure product of the Renault Sport driver development process. After making his debut in karting, his motor racing career began in 2005 in Formula Renault Junior 1.6 Italy and at the end of that season he joined the ranks of the Red Bull Junior Team. The following year he became the youngest driver to win the Formula Renault 2.0 Winter Series in Italy. His training continued in 2006 and 2007 in Formula Renault 2.0 Italy and Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0, in which he became the youngest driver ever to set foot on the podium. In 2008, Jaime competed in and won the British F3 International Series. He was the first Spanish driver to win a race in the category, and at 18 the youngest to wear the British F3 crown.

This year Jaime Alguersuari is racing in Formula Renault 3.5 Series for the Carlin Motorsport team. In a season focussed on learning, Jaime is showing off his turn of speed - by systematically qualifying for the SuperPole - and his consistency by finishing in the points in nine out of eleven races to date, with a first podium finish at Le Mans last weekend.

Today, the Catalonian continues his rapid ascent as he joins the exclusive circle of F1 drivers. “Jaime Alguersuari is a great ambassador for Formula Renault 3.5 Series, as were Robert Kubica and Sebastian Vettel before him.” explains Remi Deconinck, Managing Director of Renault Sport Technologies. “He’s very young, and he still has a lot to learn, but he has proved his ability to adapt and his high level of maturity within our categories. Jaime is a driver schooled by the Renault brand. His success shows that we have an effective training development scheme which enables drivers to reach the highest echelons of motorsport. There are three drivers to have come out of our ranks in Formula 1 today, and I hope that there will be many more in the years to come. We wish Jaime luck and I’m sure that, like Robert Kubica and Sebastial Vettel before him, he will be quick to show just what he is capable of.”

Clear-headed, Jaime Alguesuari is taking full measure of the mission which awaits him. “I’m aware that I have a difficult challenge to face up to”, he muses. “Starting in F1 in the middle of a season is never easy and it is even more complicated without being able to do testing. But I already feel totally supported by my team, whose reputation for training young drivers speaks for itself.”

At the same time, Jaime Alguesuari is set to complete his season in Formula Renault 3.5 Series. A matter of days after his first real taste of Formula 1, he lines up for the two races at Portimao behind the wheel of Carlin Motorsport’s number 10 car.