Jaime Alguersuari: I expect a lot this season

Toro Rosso’s Spanish driver Jaime Alguersuari speaks of the Italian team launching the new STR6 in Valencia.

What does the 2011 season mean to you?
I think it is definitely a key season for me this year. Every season is important and definitely this one is going to be very significant for myself, because it is my second full year in Formula One and because it is the second year that Toro Rosso builds its own car, so it will be completely decisive for our future, for the future of Toro Rosso and for my future, because we obviously need to target our competitors which are Williams, Force India and Sauber. We need to fight against them and finish the championship ahead of them.

With KERS and the adjustable rear wing, you are going to be very busy in the cockpit. How will you deal with all this new technology?
I think 2011 rules are not tested yet so we will see how they work. It looks quite difficult to adapt to the KERS and the adjustable rear wing. We need to test it and see how it goes. I think the KERS is not so difficult, because before the race weekend you can already study and understand the places where you can use it and how to use it during the race. However, the rear wing I’m not sure about. It’s a question mark for everyone, for all the drivers. In 2010 we had the front wing, where we could feel quite a difference definitely on the car balance in the race and when you changed tyre compound and when you had big tyre degradation it was a big help. We will see how it goes with the rear wing because it’s a completely new thing for everyone.

You had one day driving on Pirelli tyres in Abu Dhabi. What do you expect the change in tyre supplier will bring?
That’s another big question mark for everybody – the tyres. I think Pirelli tyres will work quite well, because we had a good experience in Abu Dhabi, the first test so far. We were quite happy with the performance of the tyres. Bridgestone was a big reference for everyone, because they had a so much experience in Formula One. I don’t really know how fast or slow we will be on the Pirellis compared to them, but, so far, the performance seems quite similar so we can expect more or less the same lap times in every place.