Race struggles for STR, but looking forward to updates in Barcelona
Mixed results and feelings for the Scuderia Toro Rosso, as the highest position for the Faenza based team was 13th, thanks to Sebastien Bourdais. But rookie Sebastien Buemi struggles with his STR04 as he wasn't able to find balance nor speed. Luckily the team will update their car as the European leg of the season starts in Spain next month, hopefully improving the performance of their 2009 challenger.
Sebastien Bourdais (STR4-02)Pos. 13th: "It was a really good day for me, except that I started so far back on the grid, which meant I couldn't get into the points. But clearly, the car was working well and I had a good race pace. The team adopted the right strategy starting me on Primes and after that I was quite quick. It was nice to drive a race on the attack, feeling comfortable with the car and I knew that with the different strategies, I had to push right to the end,running the Options. So, overall, I'm fairly happy with this result. Now, I'm looking forward to Barcelona and updates on the car as I'm sure they will make a big difference. 13th is nothing special, no points, but I can be pleased withthe day's work."
Sebastien Buemi (STR4-01)Pos. 17th: "I'm not happy with the way it went today. It was very difficult and it could have been better. My start was bad with a lot of wheelspin, losing places and then I was unable to attack and sliding a lot. I am not sure why I struggled with the car, as it's behaviour was really strange. I was not concerned by the heat and gave my maximum from start to finish. At least I finished, which is a good experience, but there is nothing much else to say apart from the fact I was slow and had a bad weekend!"
Franz Tost: "Given we were far back on the grid, the race was not sobad, especially with Bourdais who drove a very good second stint, on new Options and was around 1.5s quicker than in the first one. For Buemi, it was good he finished the race to get more mileage and experience and so far he is improving constantly. Unfortunately, a piece of debris from a BMW ended up wedged on his front wing, which meant he suffered with understeer. The team also worked well in the difficult conditions. We look forward to the next race in Spain, when we will have some updates to the rear diffuser, giving us more downforce. The entire field is very closely matched and so the key to doing well on Sunday is to qualify well, which is difficult, given you have around five cars in a tenth, so that getting out of Q1 involves being very well prepared."
Source: Scuderia Toro Rosso
