Two Sebs for Scuderia Toro Rosso in 2009

It's probably been the worst kept secret in Formula 1 for the past few weeks, so Red Bull's Italian team, Scuderia Toro Rosso (STR), is pleased to confirm that Sebastien Bourdais will drive for the team again this season.

It will be the twenty nine year old Frenchman's second season in Formula 1. This means that once again the team's driver line-up consists of two Sebs.

Commenting on the announcement, Team Principal Franz Tost, said: "we are pleased that Sebastien will be with us again for another season. After one year with Toro Rosso, we expect him to profit from the experience he gained last season. He now knows the F1 environment, the race tracks and the team. In addition, the slick tyres, which make a comeback this year, should suit his driving style very well. Therefore he will tackle the coming season with much more experience under his belt. This will be especially valuable given that our other driver, Sebastien Buemi, is an F1 rookie, who has come up through the ranks of the Red Bull Junior Driver programme."

"It has been a very long and difficult winter, but now the waiting is finally over and I am really excited about tackling my second season with Scuderia Toro Rosso," said Sebastien Bourdais. "I would like to thank Red Bull and Dietrich Mateschitz for this opportunity to continue with a team that made so much progress last year. Now, I can focus on preparing for the coming season. It promises to be a very interesting one, thanks to all the rule changes and I'm also looking forward to establishing a good relationship with my new team-mate, Sebastien Buemi, to ensure both of us do the best possible job for the team and for Red Bull."

The announcement came after Séb, along with Red Bull Racing driver Mark Webber and Red Bull F1 consultant David Coulthard, were in Kitzbühel for the Hahnenkamm Rennen 2009 - the most extreme alpine skiing race of the season, dubbed the Monaco GP of the downhill world.

And it was also a victory for the Toro Rosso driver when his Red Bull Mobile karting team beat the Wings For Life team lead by Coulthard. Webber, in the final stages of recovery after breaking his leg in a car accident in November, had to be content with watching from the sidelines.

STR's has also grown anxious in light of rising expectations on the appearance of Red Bull's 2009 car are also rising, as the team prepares for the launch of the RB5 next Monday.

Helmut Marko, motor racing advisor to Red Bull head Dietrich Mateschitz, was quoted by an Austrian news agency (APA), saying their "car will look different to the majority of the others that have been presented so far."

Sculpted by designer Adrian Newey, who also designed the title-winning McLaren before 1998, Marko was optimistic about technical rule changes, and expressed how it was a chance to shift the power balance in F1. "We are relatively confident," he added.