Sunday: New Top 10 for Alguersuari and Toro Rosso
After a magnificent race in South Korea, Jaime Alguersuari did it again in India. The Spanish driver finished in 8th place, being the best of the rest. These four points allow Toro Rosso to draw level with Sauber in the fight for 7th place in the constructors' championship. Sébastien Buemi also seemed well on his way to finishing in the points for this first Indian Grand Prix of Formula 1, but the Swiss driver ultimately had to retire due to a mechanical problem on his STR6.
Jaime Alguersuari – 8th
I am really happy with the team’s overall performance because this race was really good for us, we had the same pace as in South Korea. I managed to pass Senna and then Sutil thanks to that. I was also ahead of the Saubers and I think this result accurately reflects our position in the current hierarchy. It’s encouraging to be able to be ahead of the Renaults. Once again, the team did a great job preparing, during the sessions and also during the pit stops, and we seem to be heading in the right direction. I’m very happy to have been able to score four points, which puts Toro Rosso level with Sauber. I look forward to the next two races because I think if we continue to work well, we can finish ahead of them. It’s a shame that Sébastien couldn’t finish, both for him and for the team. But I am sure he will soon finish in the points again.
Sébastien Buemi – Retirement
I’m very disappointed with what happened this afternoon because I was having a great race after a good qualifying session yesterday. When the car stopped, I had just overtaken Hamilton, I was 8th, and I think I could have finished in the top 8. So when you go from a promising situation to a race without points, it’s hard to swallow. But if we look at the positive, our pace was good all weekend, confirming the progress made in Korea. So we have to keep working hard and stay on track for the last two races where I hope to finish in the points.
Franz Tost – Director of Scuderia Toro Rosso
Starting 9th and 10th, after one lap Jaime was 11th and Sébastien 12th. Then they both did a great job, passing Senna on laps 10 and 12, before making another pass on Sutil on laps 14 and 15. From then on, Buemi had a very good pace and was setting good lap times before having to retire due to a mechanical problem that we need to identify. Once Jaime was ahead of Sutil, he was able to increase his pace and he had a great race, as did the team during the stops. The four points scored today allow us to catch up with Sauber, tied on points even though they are officially ahead in the championship. It also means we are a bit closer to Force India. We need to focus on the next two races, as the opportunity to do well and score new points seems clearly within our reach. Finally, I want to congratulate the organizers of the first Indian Grand Prix, which was very interesting for a first edition and suggests that India will be a significant place in Formula 1 in the future.
