Saturday: Nightmare Qualification for Toro Rosso
Jean-Eric Vergne was eliminated in Q1 at Suzuka due to a rear brake fire that ended his session while he hoped to improve. Daniel Ricciardo wasn't any luckier as he had to settle for the 16th fastest time while he expected better. Starting from so far back, both Toro Rosso drivers anticipate a difficult race.
Daniel Ricciardo – 13th and 16th:
« It wasn’t a good session for us, which is disappointing because yesterday was one of our best Fridays in a while. The wind played a role today, but we clearly should have been better placed than that. I would have obviously liked a better result, but we’ll have to study what we can do in the race. I just wasn’t happy with the balance of the car. The problem with JEV? I heard about it, but from what I was told, I have no reason to worry about it for the race as everything is fine with my car. »
Jean-Eric Vergne – 12th and 18th [17th on the grid]:
« When I exited the pits, my engineer was talking to me on the radio. So I had to wait until the middle of sector 1 before I could say anything. I thought I had an engine problem but realized the rear brakes were locked. I tried to brake and there was nothing in the pedal. Then I saw the fire and had to stop the car. The team is going to have a lot of work to do tonight because it took a while to put out the fire. Hopefully, the main components weren’t damaged, the engine and the gearbox, but there will be a lot of parts to change. I’m fine, aside from having a bit of foam in the helmet. More bad luck? I hope I’ve used my quota for next year too. It won’t be an easy race starting from so far back, especially since it’s not easy to overtake at Suzuka. »
