Jan.6 (GMM) Sebastien Buemi has revealed he might contest Le Mans this year in addition to being Red Bull's official reserve driver.
The 23-year-old Swiss has been handed a lifeline by the world championship-winning team after being dropped from its rookie squad Toro Rosso.He told Le Matin newspaper on Friday it was the "logical continuation" of his three-year F1 race career."Obviously I was surprised and was not expecting the (Toro Rosso) decision at all. But the Red Bull people immediately offered me the job as third driver and I thought about it before agreeing."Being close to them will be the best way to get a spot on their team one day in the future," said Buemi.He admitted, however, that F1's limited track testing means he may have to "find a complementary programme" elsewhere."Ideally I would couple F1 with a different one, such as endurance -- I like the Le Mans 24 a lot."There is no grand prix on that (Le Mans) weekend, so it would be possible. The big teams will start their testing soon, so I could participate as well," said Buemi."I will probably be able to announce the details of what I will be doing in 2012 fairly soon."Beyond this year, he insists his future is completely open."The contract I've signed covers just one year. After that I have not been promised anything so we'll see."Actually I think it's better to be the third driver in the best team than to race at the bottom of the grid. Since December I was in contact with other teams as I had opportunities elsewhere."But ultimately the best solution was to stay with Red Bull. Now it's up to me to do my best in the simulator to prove to them that I am qualified in case Mark Webber's contract is not renewed for 2013," added Buemi.
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