Alguersuari gets a second chance to impress with Toro Rosso in 2010

Toro Rosso will retain the same driver line-up as last season after announcing that Spaniard Jaime Alguersuari will race for the team in 2010.

The move had long been expected, but Toro Rosso had until now refused to confirm the 19-year-old's place alongside Swiss Sebastien Buemi.

Alguersuari was drafted in midway through last year after the team sacked Frenchman Sebastien Bourdais.

He became the youngest driver ever to race in F1 but failed to score points.

Alguersuari finished only three of his eight races, but team boss Franz Tost said he deserved a second chance.

Tost said: "If one takes into consideration that he made his debut in the middle of the 2009 season, without having even taken part in trials, he performed very well, with a mature approach considering he is still only 19 years old.

"This season, he will again face a steep learning curve, as all the circuits in the first part of the season will be new to him."

There was no explanation as to why it took the team so long to confirm Alguersuari's position after Buemi was inked in for 2010 a week after the final race of last season in early November.

Like Buemi, Alguersuari is a product of Red Bull's driver development programme. Toro Rosso, who are owned by Red Bull, are used as a proving ground for the company's most promising talent.

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For the first time this year, Toro Rosso will have to design and build their own car, after simply using Red Bull's car but fitted with a different engine since their inception in 2006.

That will make it a testing season for two such inexperienced drivers, who will be expected to lead development on the car.

Before reaching F1, Alguersuari rose to prominence in British Formula Three, a traditional training ground for F1 drivers, becoming its youngest ever champion in 2008.

Alguersuari's confirmation means there will be three Spaniards in F1 this year - the others are Ferrari's double world champion Fernando Alonso and Sauber's veteran Pedro de la Rosa.

The move leaves just four places remaining to be filled on the grid ahead of the new season, which starts in Bahrain on 14 March.

Renault have yet to name a second driver to race alongside Poland's Robert Kubica and the new Campos team have not yet identified a partner for Brazilian novice Bruno Senna, the nephew of the late legend Ayrton.

The new US F1 team have not announced either of its drivers, but one of the seats is expected to be filled by the Argentine Jose Maria Lopez.

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