Saturday: Disappointment for Toro Rosso drivers

Jean-Eric Vergne – 4th and 18th:

« What happened today is easy to explain, it’s just a mistake on the team’s part. These things shouldn’t happen, but everyone messed up again today. It’s very frustrating because the car was good enough this weekend to qualify in a good position, whether in wet or dry conditions. By the time I left the pits for the second time, I knew I had issues and also had trouble with traffic, with some cars on slick tires around me. In conclusion, it was clearly a missed opportunity because I think I could have been in the top five in the dry, and the car was working well in the wet too. It will take me a bit of time to digest this, but there’s no point in being angry, and in any case, I truly believe I can have a good race tomorrow and score some points. We can learn from this afternoon and make sure not to repeat this same mistake. »

Daniel Ricciardo – 11th and 19th:

« It was more a case of bad timing than anything else. We went out right at the start of the session and everything was going well, with the track dry and a chance it might dampen before drying out again a bit later on. I think we should have waited a bit longer before putting on the second set of intermediates. We went out too early for the second stint, and by the second lap, the tires were already worn while the track conditions were optimal. Obviously, it’s very frustrating, but now we can put it behind us and focus on tomorrow. We need to learn from today and make sure we do well next time. »