Report: Toro Rosso can still count on Bourdais!

Toro Rosso leaves the Asian continent with mixed performances. In Bahrain today, the team could have hoped to finish in the top 15 thanks to Buemi. It will ultimately be Bourdais who will be there. The Frenchman brings the STR4 to the 13th position in Sakhir and proves that the team can always count on him when the conditions are right. The driver from Le Mans started from the last place on the grid, making this a performance. He also leaves with the 9th fastest race time and a regained morale.

Buemi, on his side, could have hoped for as good a result as his teammate if not for a poor start. He lost many positions and drove over debris from a collision in front of him. The handling of the car was difficult to manage and, like Bourdais in qualifying yesterday, the Swiss driver couldn’t climb back up the hierarchy. He finished 17th ahead of the BMWs and with additional experience.

Sébastien Bourdais – 13th:

« It was a good day for me, except for the fact that starting so far back on the grid, points were out of my reach. That said, the car was performing well, and my race pace was good. The team chose the right strategy by having me start on soft tires because after that, I was very fast. »

« Running an attack race was very pleasant and I felt comfortable in the car. I knew that with a different strategy I would have to attack at the end, when I would be driving on Option tires. Overall, I am quite satisfied with this result. I am eager to head to Barcelona and drive with the latest car developments because I am sure they will make a difference. A 13th place is nothing special, we don’t score points, but I can be happy with the work done today. »

Sébastien Buemi – 17th:

« I am not at all happy with the turn the race took today. It was very difficult and it could have been much better! My start was bad with a lot of bumps which made me lose places afterwards, I could never attack and I was sliding way too much. I don’t really know what happened with the car, it behaved very strangely! »

« I wasn’t too affected by the heat and I gave my all from start to finish. One good thing, I finished the race and it’s always a good experience but there’s nothing to say. I was slow and my weekend was lousy. »

Franz Tost – Director:

« Given that we started far back on the grid, this result is not too bad, especially thanks to Bourdais who drove very well in his second stint. He had new soft tires and was lapping 1.5 seconds better than in his first stint. For Buemi, it was good that he finished the race to add kilometers to the counter and accumulate experience. He is constantly improving. Unfortunately, a piece of debris from a BMW got stuck under his front wing, causing him to suffer from understeer… »

« Under these conditions, the team has also worked very well. We now turn towards the future and towards Spain where we will have some updates including a new rear diffuser that will give us more downforce. The hierarchy is really very tight, therefore the key to success in performing well in the race is to qualify well, which is very difficult since 5 cars are within the same tenth. So to get into Q2, we will have to be very well prepared! »