Saturday: Toro Rosso bets on long stints
Once again, Jean-Eric Vergne faced difficulties in qualifying: he could do no better than 16th place, while his teammate, Daniel Ricciardo, finished just shy of Q3. Both drivers hope that their pace on long runs will enable them to move up the grid.
Daniel Ricciardo – 15th and 11th [10th on the grid]
« In general, I am quite happy with my eleventh place, which is really close to the cut-off for Q3. However, in Q1, I was frustrated with the car’s balance and was lucky to make it to Q2. I think the wind made the conditions tricky for everyone, and I don’t think I’m the only one who struggled. I was quite satisfied with my lap in Q3, even though the car was moving around a lot. Now I am focusing on the race: I am just outside the top 10, on the clean side of the track, and I can choose my tire set. »
Jean-Eric Vergne – 18th and 16th [14th on the grid]
« I can’t explain my lack of performance this afternoon. We’ve struggled with the car since the start of the weekend, but I made progress overnight and again during the third free practice session. This afternoon, I struggled with my first stint on hard tires, but as soon as I put on the mediums, I gained two seconds. Suddenly, I had a “drivable” car and was able to put in a good time and was much happier. But in Q2, when I chose to do only one timed lap with a new set of mediums, I found a car that was very difficult to drive. It might be linked to tire heating, but it’s very hard to warm them up. So, we’re going to analyze that, but in general, I wasn’t comfortable in the car. Tomorrow, we’ll see what happens. Let’s hope the overnight improvements pay off on the long runs. »
