Jaime Alguersuari

Jaime Víctor Alguersuari Escudero[1] (Spanish: [ˈxajme alɣeɾˈswaɾi]; born 23 March 1990), also known as Jaume Alguersuari (Catalan: [ˈʒawmə əlɣəɾsuˈaɾi]),[2][3] is a Spanish retired racing driver best known for competing in Formula One between 2009 and 2011,[4] and for being the 2008 British Formula 3 champion.[5][6] He is the son of Jaime Alguersuari, Sr., a former motorcyclist and racing driver.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Alguersuari and the second or maternal family name is Escudero.
Jaime Alguersuari
Alguersuari at the 2010 Canadian Grand Prix
Born
Jaime Víctor Alguersuari Escudero

(1990-03-23) 23 March 1990
Barcelona, Spain
NationalitySpanish
OccupationRacing driver (retired)
DJ, broadcaster
Years active2005–2015 (driver)
2009–present (DJ)
Height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Formula One World Championship career
Active years2009–2011
TeamsToro Rosso
Entries46 (46 starts)
Championships0
Wins0
Podiums0
Career points31
Pole positions0
Fastest laps0
First entry2009 Hungarian Grand Prix
Last entry2011 Brazilian Grand Prix
Websitejalguersuari.com

Alguersuari became the youngest Formula One driver to start a Grand Prix in history at the 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix – at the age of 19 years, 125 days[7] – and in the process, became the first driver to be born in the 1990s to compete in Formula One.[8] This record was broken by Max Verstappen in 2015 who competed at just 17 years of age. After losing his drive with the Toro Rosso team in late 2011,[9] Alguersuari joined British radio station BBC Radio 5 Live to be their expert summariser for the 2012 Formula One season, alongside lead commentator James Allen.[10] At the age of 25, Alguersuari officially retired from motorsport to concentrate on his DJ career.[11]

Career

Early years

Born in Barcelona, Spain, Alguersuari began his formula racing career, in the Italian Formula 1600 Junior Series, in 2005.[12] In 2006, he won the Italian Formula Renault Winter Series,[13] before finishing as runner-up to Mika Mäki in the main championship the following year.[14]

Formula Three
Alguersuari driving for Carlin Motorsport at the Croft round of the 2008 British Formula Three season

He moved up to the British Formula Three Championship for 2008, driving for the Carlin Motorsport alongside teammates Brendon Hartley, Oliver Turvey and Sam Abay. After a season-long battle between Alguersuari, Hartley, Turvey and Sergio Pérez, Alguersuari won the final three races of the season to clinch the championship.[5] He thus became the youngest title winner in championship history, aged 18 years and 203 days. He also deputised for the injured Mark Webber in the 2008 Race of Champions event at the Wembley Stadium in December 2008.[15]

Formula Renault 3.5 Series

He competed in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series in 2009, continuing with the Carlin team and with Turvey once again as his teammate.[16] At the time of his move to Formula One mid-season, he was eighth in the championship, with one podium finish, and was the second-highest rookie driver in the standings behind Turvey. Despite his promotion to an F1 race seat, he carried on in FR3.5.[17] A week after his Formula One debut, Alguersuari returned to the series at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, and scored both his first pole,[18] and his first victory in the series.[19] His 27-point haul for the weekend moved him from eighth to third in the championship standings.[20] Alguersuari eventually ended up sixth,[21] dropping from third in the final race.

2009
Alguersuari driving for Toro Rosso at the 2009 Italian Grand Prix

Alguersuari took over the role of reserve driver for the Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Toro Rosso Formula One teams from fellow Red Bull Junior driver Brendon Hartley in the second half of the 2009 Formula One season.[22] Less than two weeks later, race driver Sébastien Bourdais left the Toro Rosso team after the 2009 German Grand Prix and Alguersuari was immediately expected to be his successor, despite the lack of an official confirmation.[23][24] Four days later, Toro Rosso announced that Alguersuari would drive for the team at the 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix.[25] He became the youngest ever Formula One driver at the age of 19 years and 125 days, breaking the record previously held by Mike Thackwell. He became only the seventh teenager to start a Grand Prix.[26] Qualifying in last place following a mechanical problem, he finished the race in fifteenth, one place ahead of his teammate Sébastien Buemi. Through the rest of the season, he had little success, with his best result coming at the 2009 Brazilian Grand Prix, where he managed 14th place. At the remaining 8 races, he only finished 3 of them and retired in the other 5. During the season he also had a huge crash in the Japanese Grand Prix while he was attempting to chase for his first points.[27]

2010
Alguersuari driving for Toro Rosso at the 2010 Malaysian Grand Prix, in which he scored his first World Championship points

Toro Rosso retained Alguersuari for the 2010 season,[28] starting with a career-best finishes of thirteenth in Bahrain and eleventh in Australia including 22 laps battling with the 7 time world champion Michael Schumacher. In Malaysia one week later, Alguersuari scored his first ever Formula One points with a ninth-placed finish. Toro Rosso team principal Franz Tost praised Alguersuari's performance, saying the Spaniard "drove a fantastic race".[29] Alguersuari then scored another point after finishing tenth at his home Grand Prix. In May, Alguersuari visited the Dominican Republic with his Red Bull team and became one of the first drivers to ever drive a Formula 1 vehicle on the beaches there.[30] In the next 14 races, he only had one more points finish, at the final race of the year in Abu Dhabi.

2011
Alguersuari driving for Toro Rosso at the Canadian Grand Prix, where he finished eighth

Toro Rosso confirmed that Alguersuari was to be retained alongside Sébastien Buemi for the 2011 season.[31] After finishing the first two races outside the points, Alguersuari qualified inside the top ten for the first time in Formula One, with a seventh place grid start in China.[32] Two 16th places and a retirement followed in the next three races, before taking his best Formula One placing of eighth at the Canadian Grand Prix, and then matching that at the European Grand Prix. These results came at a crucial time for Alguersuari, with Daniel Ricciardo being linked to replace Alguersuari for the 2012 season.[33] Alguersuari finished tenth at the British Grand Prix, giving him a run of three consecutive point scoring finishes. He qualified a career best 6th at the Belgian Grand Prix before being forced to retire during the race after a first corner collision with Bruno Senna. Alguersuari finished in seventh place at the Italian Grand Prix, improving upon his previous best of two eighth places earlier in the season. He crashed out on the penultimate lap in Singapore, but was classified in 21st place. In Korea, Alguersuari finished seventh after passing Nico Rosberg on the final lap, and added another eighth-place finish in India.

Following the last race of the season in Brazil, Alguersuari won the Desafio Internacional das Estrelas karting event, organised by Felipe Massa.[34] On 14 December 2011, Toro Rosso announced that Ricciardo and Jean-Éric Vergne would be the team's drivers in 2012, replacing Alguersuari and Buemi.[35]

Virgin (2014/15)
Alguersuari racing in the 2014 Punta del Este ePrix

Alguersuari commented by 2013 that he would not be trying to return to Formula One. The same week he contested a round of the CIK-FIA KZ world karting championship.[36]

Later, he became part of the Formula E Drivers' Club, enabling him to be picked by any of the Formula E teams to race with them. In March 2014, Alguersuari announced that he would compete with Virgin Racing, joining Sam Bird for the season. Alguersuari got a best finish of fourth at the 2015 Buenos Aires ePrix but only scored points on four occasions throughout the season. He had a single retirement at the 2015 Monaco ePrix where he was caught up in the first lap collision. Alguersuari had to miss the final two rounds of the season due to minor health issues which caused him to faint at the end of the 2015 Moscow ePrix and was replaced by Fabio Leimer. Alguersuari finished the season with 30 points and placed 13th in the championship.

Departure from motorsport

On 1 October 2015, Alguersuari officially retired from all forms of motorsport, explaining that he had "fallen out of love with this girlfriend".[37]

DJ career

In addition to driving racing cars, Alguersuari has his own recording studio in Barcelona,[38] and is well known in Spain as a DJ, under the stage name Squire (in reference to his second surname Escudero).[39] Alguersuari headlined the 2010 Barcelona Music Conference and has played sets at clubs including Amnesia in Ibiza.[40] His debut album Organic Life was released by Blanco y Negro Records on 14 September 2011,[41] and topped the iTunes album chart five days after its release.[42]

"I'm a Formula One driver but I have another thing in my life, and that is music. It's obviously quite strange to see a Formula One driver having another life but this is who I am. I've always said it's important to follow your instincts: I love music and racing doesn't interfere with that. I love to close the door and produce, compose, play music, listen to music. I couldn't live without it, just as I couldn't live without racing."[43]

Racing record

Career summary
Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position
2005 Formula Junior 1600 Italia Tomcat Racing 12 2 2 ? 4 160 3rd
Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 Epsilon Euskadi 2 0 0 0 0 0 NC†
2006 Formula Renault 2.0 Italia Cram Competition 15 0 0 0 1 56 10th
Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 14 0 0 0 1 24 12th
Formula Renault 2.0 Italia Winter Series 4 4 4 3 4 142 1st
2007 Formula Renault 2.0 Italia Epsilon Red Bull Team 14 3 3 2 7 266 2nd
Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 14 0 0 0 2 67 5th
2008 British Formula 3 Championship Carlin Motorsport 22 5 6 5 12 251 1st
Masters of Formula 3 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 8th
Macau Grand Prix 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 10th
Spanish Formula 3 Championship GTA Motor Competición 8 3 2 1 4 60 7th
2009 Formula Renault 3.5 Series Carlin Motorsport 17 1 1 1 3 88 6th
Formula One Scuderia Toro Rosso 8 0 0 0 0 0 24th
2010 Formula One Scuderia Toro Rosso 19 0 0 0 0 5 19th
2011 Formula One Scuderia Toro Rosso 19 0 0 0 0 26 14th
2014 ADAC GT Masters Rowe Racing 12 0 0 0 0 24 29th
2014–15 Formula E Virgin Racing 9 0 0 1 0 30 13th
2015 Stock Car Brasil RZ Motorsport 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC†

† As Alguersuari was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points.

Complete Formula Renault 3.5 Series results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Pos Points
2009 Carlin Motorsport CAT
SPR
5		 CAT
FEA
16†		 SPA
SPR
10		 SPA
FEA
6		 MON
FEA
6		 HUN
SPR
5		 HUN
FEA
16		 SIL
SPR
6		 SIL
FEA
9		 BUG
SPR
4		 BUG
FEA
3		 ALG
SPR
3		 ALG
FEA
1		 NÜR
SPR
5		 NÜR
FEA
6		 ALC
SPR
8		 ALC
FEA
12		 6th 88

† – Retired, but classified

Complete Formula One results

(key)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 WDC Points
2009 Scuderia Toro Rosso Toro Rosso STR4 Ferrari 056 2.4 V8 AUS MAL CHN BHR ESP MON TUR GBR GER HUN
15		 EUR
16		 BEL
Ret		 ITA
Ret		 SIN
Ret		 JPN
Ret		 BRA
14		 ABU
Ret		 24th 0
2010 Scuderia Toro Rosso Toro Rosso STR5 Ferrari 056 2.4 V8 BHR
13		 AUS
11		 MAL
9		 CHN
13		 ESP
10		 MON
11		 TUR
12		 CAN
12		 EUR
13		 GBR
Ret		 GER
15		 HUN
Ret		 BEL
13		 ITA
15		 SIN
12		 JPN
11		 KOR
11		 BRA
11		 ABU
9		 19th 5
2011 Scuderia Toro Rosso Toro Rosso STR6 Ferrari 056 2.4 V8 AUS
11		 MAL
14		 CHN
Ret		 TUR
16		 ESP
16		 MON
Ret		 CAN
8		 EUR
8		 GBR
10		 GER
12		 HUN
10		 BEL
Ret		 ITA
7		 SIN
21†		 JPN
15		 KOR
7		 IND
8		 ABU
15		 BRA
11		 14th 26

† Did not finish, but was classified as he had completed more than 90% of the race distance.

Complete Formula E results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team Chassis Powertrain 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Pos Points
2014–15 Virgin Racing Spark SRT01-e SRT01-e BEI
11		 PUT
9		 PDE
5		 BUE
4		 MIA
11		 LBH
8		 MCO
Ret		 BER
12		 MSC
13		 LON LON 13th 30

References
  1. Pérez de Rozas, Emilio (21 July 2009). "Toro Rosso ficha a Jaime Alguersuari y lo convertirá el domingo en el debutante más joven de la historia". El Periódico de Catalunya (in Spanish). Grupo Zeta. Retrieved 12 December 2009.
  2. "El català Jaume Alguersuari es convertirà en el debutant més jove del Mundial" (in Catalan). Diari Avui. 11 July 2009. Archived from the original on 15 July 2009. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  3. "El piloto Jaume Alguersuari pinchará en la Barcelona Summer Week" (in Spanish). elEconomista. 5 August 2009.
  4. "Alguersuari hits out at Red Bull". ESPN F1. ESPN Emea Ltd. 7 February 2012. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
  5. Llewellyn, Craig (2008). "Horses For Courses: Formula 3 Review". Autocourse 2008–2009. Crash Media Group. pp. 292–295. ISBN 978-1-905334-31-5.
  6. "Alguersuari champion after win in race 2". GPUpdate.net. GPUpdate. 13 October 2008. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
  7. "Toro Rosso name Jaime Alguersuari as second driver". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. 22 January 2010. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
  8. "F1's first child of the 1990s...". Autosport. Vol. 197 no. 5. Haymarket Publications. 30 July 2009. p. 15.
  9. "Toro Rosso to start 2012 with Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Press Association. 14 December 2011. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
  10. "Jaime Alguersuari joins Radio 5 live to complete BBC F1 line-up". BBC Media Centre. BBC. 6 March 2012. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
  11. "Ex-Toro Rosso driver Jaime Alguersuari retires aged 25". ESPN UK. 1 October 2015.
  12. Valenti, Fabina (21 July 2009). "Jaime Alguersuari joins Scuderia Toro Rosso". AutoMobilSport. MaB. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
  13. "Carlin sign Alguersuari". GPUpdate.net. GPUpdate. 20 November 2007. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
  14. "Brendon Hartley si aggiudica l'ultima sfida della stagione" [Brendon Hartley won the final challenge of the season]. Nuvolari3000.com (in Italian). Nuvolari3000. 14 October 2007. Archived from the original on 6 September 2012. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
  15. Elizalde, Pablo (11 December 2008). "Alguersuari replaces Webber at RoC". autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 24 July 2009.
  16. English, Steven (22 January 2009). "Alguersuari moves to WSR with Carlin". autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 22 January 2009.
  17. Elizalde, Pablo (20 July 2009). "Alguersuari plans to race on in FR3.5". autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 24 July 2009.
  18. Mills, Peter (31 July 2009). "Alguersuari takes first FR3.5 pole". autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 2 August 2009.
  19. Mills, Peter (1 August 2009). "Alguersuari wins feature race". autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 2 August 2009.
  20. "Alguersuari wins second race at Portimao". GPUpdate.net. GPUpdate. 1 August 2009. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
  21. "Round 9: Motorland – Formula Renault 3.5 Series – After Race 2 – Drivers' Championship Standings" (PDF). Renault Sport, Al Kamel Systems. Al Kamel Systems S.L. 25 October 2009. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
  22. Beer, Matt (1 July 2009). "Alguersuari becomes Red Bull reserve". autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. Archived from the original on 26 July 2009. Retrieved 3 July 2009.
  23. Elizalde, Pablo (16 July 2009). "Toro Rosso confirms Bourdais' exit". autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 13 July 2009.
  24. Noble, Jonathan (13 July 2009). "Alguersuari gets nod for Hungary debut". autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 13 July 2009.
  25. Baldwin, Alan (20 July 2009). "Alguersuari to become youngest F1 driver". uk.reuters.com. Reuters. Retrieved 23 July 2009.
  26. Cary, Tom (20 July 2009). "Jaime Alguersuari set to become youngest ever Formula One driver". The Daily Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. Retrieved 23 July 2009.
  27. Hynes, Justin (4 October 2009). "Jaime walks away from Suzuka wreck". Red Bull. Red Bull GmbH. Retrieved 16 February 2012.
  28. "Jaime Alguersuari to race on with Toro Rosso". BBC Sport. BBC. 22 January 2010. Retrieved 22 January 2010.
  29. Johnston, Patrick (4 April 2010). "Malaysian battle earns Alguersuari first F1 points". Thomson Reuters. Reuters. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
  30. "Alguersuari drives Red Bull on Caribbean beach". gpupdate.net. GPUpdate. 25 May 2010. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
  31. "Toro Rosso insist drivers not changing for 2011". Motorsport.com. GMM. 2 December 2010. Retrieved 15 January 2011.
  32. Elizalde, Pablo (16 April 2011). "Alguersuari hails Toro Rosso showing". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 16 April 2011.
  33. "Alguersuari 'relaxed' despite Ricciardo rumours". Crash.net. Crash Media Group. 24 June 2011. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
  34. "Alguersuari wins Massa kart event". Crash.net. Crash Media Group. 5 December 2011. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  35. Elizalde, Pablo (14 December 2011). "Ricciardo, Vergne to race for Toro Rosso in 2012 Formula 1 season". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
  36. "Jaime Alguersuari participará en el Mundial de Karting KZ" [Jaime Alguersuari participates in World Karting KZ]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Ignacio Díez, PRISA. 3 September 2013. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  37. "Ex-F1 driver Jaime Alguersuari retires from motorsport". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. 1 October 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  38. Baldwin, Alan (7 May 2010). "Part-time DJ Alguersuari in tune with F1". Thomson Reuters. Reuters. Retrieved 17 October 2010.
  39. "Alguersuari to welcome 2011 as 'DJ Squire'". Motorsport.com. GMM. 31 December 2010. Retrieved 9 January 2011.
  40. Buxton, Will (October 2010). "The Double Life of a Modern F1 Driver". F1 Racing. Haymarket Publications: 70–74.
  41. "Alguersuari to release debut album". ESPN F1. ESPN Emea Ltd. 8 September 2011. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
  42. "Alguersuari tops iTunes album charts". Yahoo! Eurosport. TF1 Group. 28 September 2011. Retrieved 11 October 2011.
  43. Youson, Matt (13 October 2011). "Jaime Alguersuari on the Decks". Red Bull. Red Bull GmbH. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Atte Mustonen		 Formula Renault Italia Winter Series
Champion
2006		 Succeeded by
César Ramos
Preceded by
Marko Asmer		 British Formula Three Champion
2008		 Succeeded by
Daniel Ricciardo
Preceded by
Lucas di Grassi		 Desafio Internacional das Estrelas
Winner
2011		 Succeeded by
Jules Bianchi
(2013)
Records
Preceded by
Mike Thackwell
19 years, 182 days
(1980 Canadian GP)		 Youngest driver to start
a Formula One race
19 years, 125 days
(2009 Hungarian Grand Prix)		 Succeeded by
Max Verstappen
17 years, 166 days
(2015 Australian GP)
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