Toro Rosso team principal Franz Tost has defended the decision to axe Jaime Alguersuari and Sebastien Buemi for 2012, believing they are not good enough to earn a promotion to Red Bull Racing.
As sister team to Red Bull, Toro Rosso is tasked with the responsibility of nurturing new talent that could eventually drive for the reigning world champions.
Sebastian Vettel was one of those to make the progression but Tost believes neither Alguersuari nor Buemi were strong enough and as a result they were dropped for 2012 in favour of Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne.
"This is a high-performance sport and 'departures' are a part of the game," Tost told the official Formula 1 website.
"Both drivers have to thank Red Bull as otherwise they would never have made it into Formula 1. And even now they have it in their own hands to make something out of the chance Red Bull has given them.
"Well, Buemi is still with Red Bull Racing as their third man. What will happen to Alguersuari? I have no information at the moment but, as I said, thanks to Red Bull they have a very good basis to pursue their careers from. Maybe even in Formula 1 at another team.
"I'm not saying that they are not fit for Formula 1 as both have shown substantial talent at some races, but it is not enough for Red Bull Racing.
"But I could imagine that they could be top drivers somewhere else and have a successful racing career."
The decision to axe Alguersuari and Buemi will leave Ricciardo and Vergne in no doubt as to the task in front of them, but Tost believes both are capable of producing good results for the team.
"Both have done extremely well in all the series they've raced in before entering Formula 1 and, yes, they showed potential at the test," he said.
"Daniel, with 11 Formula 1 races under his belt and frequent Friday drives with us, has an advantage. But in general I would say that this wow-effect is not so easily manageable in a first season.
"My guess is that the first four flyaway races will be difficult as neither knows the tracks, but once we come to Europe I expect them to do significantly better. Let me say a final word. I don't have a problem when a driver has a good race and at the next race he has a shunt - that's part of the game.
"Both drivers will have a 'crash period' but that is part of their development phase. It was the same with Sebastian Vettel. But at some point they have to get their game together - and the question is who will be better at doing that? Let's wait and see."