Toro Rosso Report – One point… it’s more than less than nothing!

Toro Rosso showed today that they have talented drivers. When the performance of the cars is equal, in the rain, it’s the drivers’ performance that matters. And in this game, Vettel is very close to stepping onto his first podium while Liuzzi secures the first point for the small Scuderia this season.

Vettel was extremely disappointed with his collision with more or less a teammate, since Toro Rosso is the sub-brand of Red Bull, and he still wishes to have demonstrated his abilities to the team.

Progress that the team also confirms and hopes to be able to demonstrate next week in Shanghai.

Vitantonio Liuzzi – 8th

It was a great race with 67 laps of immense tension because we were aquaplaning at every moment of the race. I drove well, especially since I qualified poorly and needed to catch up. Given the weather, I decided to start from the pit lane, and I managed to score a point in the final moments, which represents real progress for the team. The weather was bad, but as drivers, it’s our job to race in all conditions.

Sebastian Vettel – Retirement

I had a good start to the race and everything was going well. Then, with the safety car present, I was 3rd and behind Lewis [Hamilton] and Mark [Webber] and it seemed to me that Lewis had a problem. In fact, he was heating his brakes. So I moved to overtake and realized too late that Webber was in front of me, probably thinking the same thing. I hit him and ruined both our races… I am really sorry for Mark.

Franz Tost – Director

« Let’s start with the positives: Tonio [Liuzzi] scored our first point of the season this weekend. Due to the weather, we started him from the pits to follow the safety car more easily, but the advantage gained was lost when he pitted at the arrival of the second Safety Car. Sebastian [Vettel] also showed what he could do. He made a very good start up to 3rd place and was almost able to overtake Hamilton. He was 3.3 seconds behind Webber but everyone was very close. Then, at the arrival of the Safety Car, he hit the Red Bull, ending both of their races like that… »

So far, it had been an impressive race and the GP showed that even experienced drivers could make mistakes. However, I continue to be eager to work with Vettel. He made a mistake, but without it we could have had a Red Bull and a Toro Rosso on the podium.