Sunday: Toro Rosso wants more!
After mixed winter testing, Toro Rosso didn't expect to fight for a spot in Q3. While capable, the team didn't take advantage of the opportunity by choosing the wrong tires. In the race, Jean-Eric Vergne got the upper hand on his teammate at the start. The French driver recorded the second fastest lap of the Grand Prix behind Räikkönen and was able to fight for points. Therefore, the Toro Rosso is fast, and they will need to better exploit its performance next week for the Malaysian Grand Prix.
Jean-Eric Vergne – 12th:
The start was very intense; I was pushed onto the grass and had to cross a gravel area at one point. After that, my first stint with the super soft tires was rather average, but the last two stints were very good with the medium tires. I was able to fight for points at the end of the Grand Prix, but when passing Romain Grosjean, I locked my front tires, and when I tried to overtake Button, I braked too late.
Overall, it’s a good weekend that shows we have a good car with which we can fight for points at each GP. I’m disappointed not to have scored a point, but we leave here with bigger ambitions than we thought. Fundamentally, we have a good car.
Daniel Ricciardo – Retirement:
« In the end, I had to give up because of an issue with my exhaust. Leaving the pit stop, I warned the team that the car was making a strange noise. I tried to fix it by changing some settings on the steering wheel but nothing changed.
At the start of the race, I struggled to find grip and it felt like I was driving on ice. It took a long time for me to get the tires up to temperature. But later, after 10 laps, I was able to put in some decent laps, but I had lost too much time at the beginning of the race.
We will have to work on the tires. It’s not the ending I would have wanted for this Grand Prix, the first of the season and especially at home for me.
