Toro Rosso to evaluate Buemi for '09 seat

The GP2 race winner is a Red Bull junior driver and believed to be the preferred choice for the company's motor sport advisor Helmut Marko.

Team co-owner Gerhard Berger confirmed that the Jerez test would be used to look at Buemi's capabilities - as the team set their sights on a combination of a young driver and a more experienced hand.

"We are going to test him at Jerez," Berger told autosport.com. "It is an evaluation for next year."

Although Bruno Senna has been linked with the team, Berger said there were no plans to give him a similar test - as he suggested that the outfit would likely only take one youngster next year.

"The ideal situation would be a young driver and an experienced one," explained Berger. "We are putting everyone on the list who is free, but there is no clear opinion at this stage. We will take our time."

Current driver Sebastien Bourdais will remain with the team if he can deliver an upturn in form in the remaining races, while former Super Aguri pairing Takuma Sato and Anthony Davidson are also believed to be in the frame.

Sato would bring the added attraction of helping Red Bull make a breakthrough in the Japanese soft drinks market, which it has struggled to do well in so far.