Saturday: Scuderia Toro Rosso Satisfied Despite Everything

Sebastien Buemi – 15th and 13th

Overall, I am quite satisfied with my performance, even though I finished only thirteenth, just a tenth of a second from eleventh place, which shows it was a difficult session. But I think I did a good job in the cockpit, and unfortunately, the fact that this track is slower than those of the last three races doesn’t help us. Tomorrow’s race will be tough and long, and anything can happen. I will try to capitalize on any opportunity and should be able to fight with the cars directly ahead of me on the grid.

Jaime Alguersuari – 16th and 15th

« I am happy that we managed to improve the car between practice and qualifying, and I believe we made the right choices for the race in terms of downforce and setup. We are often more competitive in the race than during qualifying. I believe that will be the case tomorrow. I don’t think my position on the grid is so bad, and I am confident that I can make my way into the points by the end of the night. »

Giorgio Ascanelli, technical director

« We are running on a track where the car’s balance, which is our strong point, is not crucial, whereas braking and pure grip are more important, and we are not as good in those areas. This is not an attack on Brembo (editor’s note: the brake manufacturer), who does a good job for us. We have some difficulties finding the best configuration, but given the situation we were in yesterday, I must say we made a step forward today. These positions are not too disappointing. It’s a situation where we can apply the cliché that we should be better in the race than in qualifying: Sergio is a tenth ahead and Kobayashi a tenth behind, so it should be an interesting and exciting fight. Fortunately for Pirelli, but unfortunately for us, the tire situation seems stable, so I don’t expect any unusual developments on that front that could help us and make things more fun. »