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Scott Speed walks away from his Scuderia Toro Rosso ride after crashing at the Nurburgring. (Photo: Getty Images) ยป More Photos
Germany's Sebastian Vettel showed up for the Scuderia Toro Rosso test Wednesday at Mugello, Italy but embattled American Scott Speed was still in the car.
Following a stormy weekend at the Nurburgring, where Speed and team manager Franz Tost engaged in a screaming, then shoving match, it was reported by SPEEDTV.com the only American in Formula 1 would be replaced immediately by Vettel.
But the 24-year-old Californian remained behind the wheel as the open test began and Tost told Autosport that Speed was going to be in the car for next week's Hungarian Grand Prix.
One of seven drivers to spin in the rain last Sunday at the Nurburgring, Speed had his confrontation with Tost, which led to the rumor he was out.
"As far as I know, Scott has not been released and he's planning to go to the test this week in Italy ," said Mike Speed, father of the former go-kart star, from his California home on Monday night. "But, obviously, there's been a lot of things going on."
This came on the heels of Speed's first public comments about his treatment the past two years.
"It's clear that from my bosses, that me and Tonio (Liuzzi) both have very little support," Speed told RACER magazine's Adam Cooper last weekend. "It's been that way for the last two years, and it's a lot more now. At some point I said I don't care, if I'm not in F1 next year, if I'm with a different team, it's OK for me. It's
"It doesn't take a rocket scientist to read the press and know that Franz and Gerhard (Berger) are pushing like hell to get rid of me and Tonio."
Even though Speed has out-performed his teammate this year, neither has scored a point and Scott's best showing was ninth at the Canadian Grand Prix. The Toro Rosso team is under-funded, by F1 standards, and half ofSpeed's eight DNFs in 2007 have been mechanical failures.
SPEEDTV.com speculated several weeks ago that three-time Champ Car king Sebastien Bourdais and Bruno Senna would replace Speed and Liuzzi in 2008 but, if Vettel is released from his contract with BMW, it appears he will join Bourdais.
"Nothing is official. They (Toro Rosso) have an option on me that expires at the end of this month so if something is going to happen it will have to be soon," said Bourdais, who tested for the third time with Toro Rosso earlier this month.
Speed came through the Red Bull development program in Europe and it's logical he might be able to use that connection to come to Champ Car since that series needs young American drivers. Co-owners Gerald Forsythe and Kevin Kalkhoven currently sport Red Bull sponsorship.
"We haven't discussed anything like that," said Mike Speed. "Scott never wanted to do anything but F1 and I don't think that's changed."
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