Saturday: The Toro Rosso trapped by reliability and exuberance
Fast in Q1 - admittedly with the Super Soft tires -, both Toro Rosso cars each encountered their issues: while Daniel Ricciardo had to stop his STR07 on the side of the track due to lack of propulsion, Jean-Eric Vergne made a mistake in the last corner, falling victim to an overly aggressive attack. However, the Italian team hopes to capitalize on the pace they had in the first 20 minutes.
Daniel Ricciardo – 17th and 16th:
« In Q2, we only did two one-lap stints each, and in my last one, I lost all drive coming out of turn 12, as if the car was in neutral and I couldn’t engage a gear. I couldn’t bring the car back to the pits and had to abort this attempt at the side of the track. It’s a shame because Q1 went very well and I was able to set a competitive time. I don’t know if I could have ultimately made it into Q3, but regardless of the result, it was a missed opportunity, although that’s part of the game in motor racing. Let’s hope we can bounce back tomorrow. »
Jean-Eric Vergne – 16th and 17th:
The performance seemed very good and competitive this afternoon, but unfortunately, I tried to take the last corner flat out on my very last attempt, I made a mistake and ruined my lap, almost losing the car, so I’m angry with myself for that. The performance improvement compared to yesterday partly came from the car’s overnight improvement and after Free Practice 3, and partly from myself and my way of driving. Of course, I will try to get a good start tomorrow and I hope I can make my way to a points position at the end of the race.
