Sébastien Buemi
1. Who is Sébastien Buemi?
Sébastien Buemi is a Swiss racing driver. He was born on October 31, 1988 in Aigle (Switzerland). After having played three seasons in Formula 1 with Toro Rosso, he is currently an Endurance driver with Toyota Gazoo Racing and also in Formula E, with a team whose identity is not yet known.
2. Sébastien Buemi’s junior career
At the age of 6, Sébastien Buemi began competing in karting and won several national titles. In 2004, he took a step forward in his discovery of motorsport by discovering the German Formula BMW, he finished 3rd, then 2nd the following season. He was then integrated into the Red Bull Junior Team.
In 2006, the driver from the county of Vaud moved up to the F3 Euro Series (12th) with Mücke Motorsport, thanks to the support of Red Bull. In 2007, he finished runner-up in the series, behind Romain Grosjean. The same year, he drove the Red Bull RB3 in tests in Jérez, and was noted for its speed.
Earlier in the year, Sébastien Buemi contested his first GP2 race, replacing Michael Ammermüller, another Red Bull Junior Team driver, at ART. The Swiss played the full season in 2008, with Arden. He only signed 2 victories and ranked in 6th position.
Sébastien Buemi in the colors of the Red Bull Junior Team during his GP2 Series campaign.
3. Sébastien Buemi’s F1 career
In 2009, Sébastien Buemi was confirmed at Scuderia Toro Rosso and entered the Formula 1 world championship. The Swiss replaced Sebastian Vettel, who had left for the big sister team, Red Bull Racing. Sébastien Bourdais completes the duo at Toro Rosso. Buemi becomes the first Swiss driver on the F1 grid since Jean-Denis Délétraz.
For his first Grand Prix in Formula 1, Sébastien Buemi delivers very surprising content for his debut. He beat his teammate both in qualifying and in the race, finishing 8th. He moved to 7th following the disqualification of Lewis Hamilton. He pocketed the point for 8th place at the Chinese Grand Prix, but the disappointing performance of his Toro Rosso did not allow him to fight for points.
Sébastien Buemi started in F1 in 2009, with Toro Rosso.
Mid-season, Sébastien Buemi discovered a new teammate, Jaime Alguersuari, following the departure of Bourdais due to breach of contract. The Spaniard then becomes the youngest driver in history. Buemi, meanwhile, finished in the points twice and finished the season in 16th place in the world championship.
The Swiss driver returns for a second season with Toro Rosso, Red Bull's satellite team. His season is somewhat disappointing. Like the previous year, he finished in the points 4 times, but as the scale was modified so that the 9th and 10th scored points, this is not very significant. His best result this year is an 8th place at the Canadian Grand Prix. He concluded the 2010 Formula 1 season still ranked 16th in the world, with 8 points scored.
For the 2011 F1 world championship, still with Toro Rosso alongside Jaime Alguersuari, Buemi started rather well and finished 8th in the inaugural Grand Prix in Australia. However, the rest of the season will be of the same caliber as the previous two. With Toro Rosso, Sébastien Buemi does not have a team capable of establishing a lasting position in the points.
Sébastien Buemi only played 3 seasons in F1.
His 2011 season remains the best in terms of accounting with 15 points and 15th place in the general classification. But at the end of the season, Toro Rosso decided to part ways with its driver duo, and hired Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne.
Sébastien Buemi nevertheless keeps one foot in Formula 1, as he remains reserve driver for Red Bull from 2012. In 2020, the Swiss took part in young driver tests with Red Bull.
4. Sébastien Buemi’s Formula E journey
Since 2014, the Swiss has participated in the Formula E championship with Nissan e.dams, thus discovering a new facet of motorsport and getting up to speed with electric single-seaters. Second in the inaugural season, he was crowned champion at the end of the 2015-16 championship. He will also finish vice-champion in 2017 and 2019.
Sébastien Buemi wins in Formula E in 2016.
But since 2020, Nissan e.dams has been confined to a second-string role in Formula E. Sébastien Buemi finished only 21st last season. He nevertheless remains the driver with the most victories (13) and poles (14, tied with Jean-Eric Vergne) in Formula E. At the end of the 2022 season, he announced his departure from Nissan. Envision would be in the running to hire him.
5. Sébastien Buemi’s Endurance Course
In 2012, a year after his departure from Formula 1 (although he remained a reserve and test driver for Red Bull Racing) but before his debut in Formula E, Buemi began a new chapter in his career in motorsport: the World Endurance Championship (WEC). With the official Toyota team, at the wheel of the No. 030 TS8 Hybrid, he participated in the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Anthony Davidson and Stéphane Sarrazin. The adventure ends badly because the Englishman crashes with a GT.
From 2013, Buemi will participate in the entire WEC season with Toyota. The Japanese manufacturer is starting to jostle against Porsche and Audi. If Le Mans refuses Buemi, beaten by Audi, he climbs onto the podium of the Le Mans classic for the first time (2nd). He won his first WEC race at the 6 Hours of Bahrain at the end of the year.
Sébastien Buemi joined the Toyota Endurance program in 2012.
2014 is the year of consecration for the TS040 hybrid. Winner at Silverstone, Spa, Fuji and Bahrain, Buemi and the crew of the No. 8 Toyota obtained the title of world endurance champion.
The next two championships were more complicated for Buemi, particularly the 2016 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. While Kazuki Nakajima was racing towards victory with the TS050 Hybrid, a breakdown three minutes into the race shattered the No. 8 drivers' dreams of victory.
Following Audi's withdrawal, the fight for the world endurance championship is shared between Toyota and Porsche. In 2017, Buemi and the No. 8 got off to an excellent start, winning at Silverstone and Spa.
But the response from Porsche, and the Bernhard – Bamber – Hartley trio, was overwhelming: 4 successes in a row at Le Mans, Nürburgring, Mexico and Austin. Despite three victories in Fuji, Shanghai and Bahrain, Toyota and Buemi had to lose.
In 2022, Sébastien Buemi wins his 4th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
From the following season, the withdrawal of Porsche leaves the field open for the Toyota team in the general classification of the WEC championship. With Nakajima and Hartley, Sébastien Buemi finally won the 24 Hours of Le Mans and won his second endurance world championship title. The No. 2 sister car will clinch the championship title in 7 and 2020, with the No. 2021 runner-up each time.
6. AUTOhebdo's opinion on Sébastien Buemi
Many drivers would have regressed once they were fired from F1. After 55 Grand Prix and disappointing results, Buemi was able to bounce back perfectly in his post-F1 career, first in Endurance, then in Formula E, where he was champion in both categories. A hard worker, the Swiss impresses with his longevity and his results in motorsport.
7. Learn more about Sébastien Buemi
Sébastien Buemi’s career results
associated researches
Drivers of his generation
