And off to the Italian galley for Scuderia Toro Rosso
For its near-home race, Scuderia Toro Rosso could do no better than fifteenth place, thanks to Carlos Sainz. Daniil Kyvat himself failed to finish the Grand Prix after battery problems... What's more, his seat was even threatened at one point by a misinterpretation by journalists!
What could the Faenza firm hope for in the temple of speed? Operating with a 2015 engine severely lacking top speed, the Monza circuit is somewhat of a nightmare for the STR11. Starting 15th, Carlos Sainz Jr came back about an hour and a half later… in 15th place. A disappointing result but the performance ceiling was visibly reached: « I think we tried everything to reach the points but it’s impossible when you don’t have the pace. We had decided to go for a one-stop strategy. Nonetheless, I lost too much time, so I had to stop a second time… It’s not the ideal race, but we extracted the maximum from our car and in the end, this 15th place is the most we could hope for! »
This position is, in any case, the continuation of a difficult trilogy that began in Hockenheim at the end of July for the young Spaniard. Fortunately, the next Grand Prix in Singapore will be more winding: « The car behaved better than last week at Spa, which is something positive for us. The last three races have been tough, on circuits heavily dependent on engine power. Fortunately, in Singapore, this situation will change a bit, we can return to a result that we deserve. »
For Daniil Kyvat, it all ended at the 36th lap of the race, due to various issues. Still, no regrets as he was only in 16th place, not far from his teammate: « It wasn’t the desired race. We had a problem with my floor, which was damaged at the first corner, as I got sandwiched by a few cars. As a result, I lost a lot of downforce… Apart from that, I encountered an electrical battery issue, which forced me to abandon. We knew it was going to be difficult, but it’s disappointing to finish my race so early… We have to be patient, fortunately, the next circuits should suit us much better! »
A piece of news that ultimately isn’t one: Gasly will not take Kyvat’s seat in Singapore!
In addition, a rumor quickly echoed in the Lombard paddock. It suggested a possible replacement of Daniil Kvyat in the next Grand Prix in Singapore, in place of Pierre Gasly, the latest protégé of the Winged Bull, a brilliant leader in the current GP2 Series championship. Furthermore, it was reported that this news came from the Frenchman himself, via an interview with a Spanish television channel. However, Helmut Marko quickly squashed this information, which turns out to be false: « Kvyat will definitely be in the Toro Rosso in Singapore, as well as for the rest of the season. »
The main person involved also had to calm the enthusiasm of the F1 Circus participants by tweeting on his personal page: “Better to make it clear now, never said I would replace Daniil in Singapore, just said that I hope to get my opportunity in F1 asap.”
In any case, the descent into hell continues for the Russian, who seems to only be plagued by bad news since his relegation to Red Bull’s junior team in place of Max Verstappen. The native of Ufa has only brought back two points since the Spanish Grand Prix in mid-May!
