Sunday: Toro Rosso victim of mechanical problems
Sad weekend for Toro Rosso, who failed to bring home a single point, with both drivers falling victim to similar mechanical problems. Daniel Ricciardo, who was fighting for the top 10, saw all his hopes dashed just two laps before the end. His teammate, Jean-Eric Vergne, had to change strategies during the race, suffering from severe tire degradation.
Jean-Eric Vergne – 18th: « For now, we’re not entirely sure what happened at the end. I felt the car pulling to one side, and something was clearly not right. So the team called me into the pits. Starting sixteenth, I knew it was going to be a tough weekend. I gained a few places in the opening laps, then started to struggle with tire degradation. So I agreed when the team decided to switch from a two-stop to a three-stop strategy. I just want to get to Suzuka and start over, but we’ll need to do a lot of work if we want to get back to the level of performance we should have had here. »
Daniel Ricciardo – 19th: « I think we did everything today in the race, I had a decent first stint and tried to run as long as possible on the first set of tires. The car wasn’t perfect, but it was good enough to be in the points and I was holding well in ninth place. It’s déjà vu, I had the same scenario here last year, arriving at turn three a few laps from the finish. I braked and the car immediately turned left. This time it cost me a place. Once I was out of the cockpit, I could see there was a mechanical issue in the front left corner. Personally, I am very satisfied with my performance in the car today. I may not have finished in the top 10 but I was able to fight within it. But for me and the team, it’s frustrating not to get any reward. Now, all we can do is look forward to Suzuka. »
