After an encouraging display at Albert Park last Sunday, Toro Rosso will be looking to go one step further in Sepang this week.

There will be hopes of showers going into the weekend, as Sebastian Buemi will be looking to eradicate memories of last year’s horror show, which saw him qualify at the back of the grid, half a second off the pace.

There shouldn’t be any worry of the Italian team lining the back row of the grid this year, but the chances are, team director Franz Tost would welcome the rain, even if it’s not to the extent of 2009.

The circuit in Kuala Lumpa is a wide open, fast track in a similar vein to the opening round in Bahrain, and thus the top end speed will come into play, especially on the two straights which incorporate and also precede the start/finish line. This is sure to benefit Toro Rosso’s main rivals such as Williams, Sauber and Force India.

However, a downpour during Saturday’s qualifying session, or even race day on Sunday could be welcomed by the team, whose enthusiastic pairing would welcome the level playing field.

For Jaime Alguersuari, it will be another virgin outing on a course unfamiliar to the youngster, but he will certainly be buoyed by his battle with seven-time World Champion Michael Schumacher, which saw him hold the German for the majority of the race.

As for Buemi, he retired from this event last year after just thirty laps when he succumbed to the perilous weather conditions, after starting at the rear.

If the weather stays fine, I see the team finishing ahead of the new teams, but struggling to make an impact on the rest of the field. Points could just be out of the question for the STR5, as I don’t see them having a real impact on the afore mentioned teams.

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