Jaime Alguersuari unlikely to race outside F1 in 2013

The 22-year-old ex-Scuderia Toro Rosso driver admitted last week that his hopes of a comeback had been thwarted because of the prevalence of pay drivers and he plans to focus on his role as a Pirelli test driver this year.

He sees driving Pirelli's 2010 Renault test hack as the best way to keep himself sharp enough to drop into an F1 seat if the opportunity arises, although he is also hoping to do some karting to keep sharp.

"When a driver in his best racing form leaves F1, he needs to keep his currency up," Alguersuari told AUTOSPORT.

"That's why I'm very happy to have this Pirelli deal, because I can still be active, can still run in the car and can understand the tyres.

"I'm still ready to jump in and race this year and do the job I should do.

"Possibly I did close other opportunities in other series but now I'm concentrating on this [the Pirelli role].

"Maybe in the future I will look at other things."

Alguersuari had been in contention for a DTM seat after testing for BMW at Estoril over the winter.

AUTOSPORT understands that his pace impressed BMW, although the final slot in the marque's line-up went to fellow F1 outcast Timo Glock.

"It's true I've been in talks with some DTM teams but nothing was assured, especially because I was waiting for other options in F1 which were in doubt until a week or two ago," said Alguersuari.