Toro Rosso and USF1 Confirm Drivers, Heidfeld Latest

Before the start of this week, there were five race seats available for the 2010 Formula One season, now there are just two.

Toro Rosso has confirmed that young Spaniard Jaime Alguersauri will remain with the team, not exactly a secret, but the paperwork has finally been completed, and the deal formally announced.

Alguersauri replaced Sébastien Bourdais half-way through the 2009 season, finishing just three of his eight races, but just 19-years-old, he still has a lot to learn, and a lot of miles to run before his career takes off.

Elsewhere, new team USF1 is finally on the verge of announcing their first driver as Argentine José María López joins the team.

The team expects to make a formal announcement next week, but López's manager has already confirmed the deal.

López is certainly a gamble, having last competed in single-seater racing with the Super Nova team in GP2 back in 2006, while being dropped from the Renault driver development programme in the same year.

Since then López has since competed in the American Le Mans Series in 2007, and the Turismo Competición 2000, a touring car series in Argentina, driving a Honda Civic, winning the title in 2008 and 2009.

Regardless of his success in the TC2000, it is a far cry from the super hi-tec world of F1, and the incredible performance such cars are capable of.

Of the new drivers entering F1, López has to be the biggest gamble of all, and certainly a worry during the opening races as he finds his feet in an F1 car, and in the ultra-competitive F1 environment.

For López, it is a chance to realise a boyhood dream as he becomes the first Argentinian F1 driver since Gaston Mazzacane drove for Prost in 2001, for his team it's all about the reported £8m sponsorship package López has managed to secure,

Pay drivers are back, and with that brings the chaos of green drivers, with limited ability, but bags full of cash, and it wouldn't surprise me to discover in the coming weeks that USF1's second driver is of the same ilk.

With Pedro de la Rosa's move from McLaren test driver to Sauber for 2010 also being confirmed this week, that leaves just the second seat at USF1, and the second seat at Renault up for grabs, with the latter considerably the better option for any serious driver.

As mentioned in an earlier article, it is the only option for a 2010 drive for former Sauber driver Nick Heidfeld, bumped out of a move to Mercedes GP and McLaren following the return of Michael Schumacher.

However, Heidfeld's manager told the German press that he will still join up with the Mercedes team as their Reserve/Test driver, although a contract has yet to be signed.

Mercedes competition director Norbert Haug confirmed that talks for a third driver were underway, but would not speculate.

As for the Renault seat, it seems increasingly likely that the Genii Capital-controlled team will opt for a pay driver, something that wouldn't have happened if Renault hadn't sold out.