Sunday: Ricciardo laughs, Vergne cries at Toro Rosso

Daniel Ricciardo – 7th:

« I’m thrilled! After qualifying well yesterday, it was nice to maintain that position until the end today. In the last races, we managed to qualify in the top 10, but we didn’t have the pace to stay there in the race, but today we did. I think I got the most out of the car, keeping others behind me, and the low-downforce setup clearly helped in the straights. The others were catching up with me in the second sector, but I was able to pull away once we reached the faster sections, and we knew that would be our strong point after yesterday. We need to keep working hard to develop the car for the upcoming races because a top 5 finish doesn’t seem so far away. »

Jean-Eric Vergne – Retirement:

« Everything was going well, I wasn’t in a fight at that moment and I was taking care of my tires and controlling Button quite easily. Then, I felt something was wrong, and I had to stop at the side of the track. I said on the radio that the engine had stopped, but actually it was still running and it seems I had a transmission problem. It’s really a shame because I knew my last stint on hard tires would be even better. I clearly could have finished well in the points because the guys in front of me weren’t pulling away. I really seem to be suffering from bad luck this season, but I persist in believing that my luck will turn soon. »