The 22-year-old, who was surprisingly dumped by Toro Rosso at the end of the 2011 campaign, spent last year as Pirelli’s tyre tester while also working as an expert summariser for BBC Radio 5 Live.

Alguersuari claims promises made by a team for him to make a comeback this year eventually fell through, with the Spaniard believing F1 has become a sport where money is favoured over talent.