Saturday Report: Toro Rosso – Buemi cracks the top 10

All winter, observers pointed to Toro Rosso as a team to watch in 2011. The STR6 had indeed shown to be fast and consistent during the private pre-season tests.

The result of these first qualifications confirms that the small Italian team is starting the new championship in good form. Sébastien Buemi is delighted to be back in the top 10, something that hasn’t happened since 2009, and he believes he got the maximum out of the equipment available to him today.

A bit less luck for his Spanish teammate. Jaime Alguersuari has been a victim of understeer in his car, which explains why he’s a bit further back on the grid. His twelfth place on the grid still allows him to aim for a few points in the race tomorrow.

Sebastien Buemi – 11th and 10th:

I’m very happy to be back in Q3, which hadn’t happened since 2009. At the end I didn’t have any new tires left but I still have to thank the team for doing a great job and showing that we are on the right track.

Let’s hope we can continue racing tomorrow. Based on what we’ve seen from our performance in free practice, I think it’s possible. I couldn’t have hoped for a better start to the season, being among the ten fastest on the grid. My best lap was very good, and I don’t think I could have done better.

Jaime Alguersuari – 13th and 12th:

«I am happy; I must also congratulate my teammate who did a better job than I did. It’s a good result for the team and it bodes well for tomorrow. My main goal will be to score points. »

The team did a good job over the winter to produce a fast car, and this is the first result of that work, which I hope will continue to improve the car in the next races.

**Giorgio Ascanelli – Technical Director**:

«Before the session, I was hoping for this result. We are just a little ahead of Force India, with whom we hope to compete all year. In analyzing the results, we must consider that Williams had a difficult session while Sauber is well ahead of us. »

« Seb and the team did a very good job, managing the tires and going out at the right time. People complimented our car, and it is the result of some bold choices at the front. We are currently the eighth team, and we must keep working to try to stay ahead of the other teams. »

« Jaime did a good job and complained about understeer all day, which was not the case yesterday. Twelfth, it’s close to his teammate and it’s not a disappointment. We simply didn’t extract the maximum from his car today.