Improvement for Toro Rosso, but not enough
The Scuderia Toro Rosso benefitted today from the new specification of the STR4, but as the times are so close together it is very difficult to place your car in Q3 or even Q2. Sebastian Bourdais will start tomorrow's Spanish Grand Prix from 17th on the grid while his rookie colleague took the 15th place on the Barcelona grid.
Sebastien Buemi (STR4-01): “We were hoping for better than that. Apart from going off the track, I also encountered some traffic in Q2 and I think without that I could have been two or three tenths quicker and been a couple of places higher. Now, we will work hard to be well prepared for tomorrow when they say it might rain, which could be good for us. It’s hard to overtake here, so it will be tough to get up into the points places, but you never know what might happen on the first lap. I have not given up on the idea of having a good weekend.”
Third Practice Session: Best lap 1.21.424, pos. 9th, 19 laps
Qualifying Session: Best lap 1.21.067, pos. 15th
Sebastien Bourdais (STR4-02): “The car is definitely quicker in this specification, but the times are so close that, as soon as you make the slightest mistake, you are not forgiven. My first run was okay, but I felt I had less grip in the second one. Doing two runs of two laps was the right decision. I had a bit too much oversteer in the slow corners, so I couldn’t carry enough speed, and for a fraction I didn’t make the cut and unfortunately it wasn’t good enough again today.”
Third Practice Session: Best lap 1.21.649, pos. 14th, 19 laps
Qualifying Session: Best lap 1.21.300, pos. 17th
Giorgio Ascanelli: “Here in Spain, we have benefited from the introduction of the “Melbourne” specification package, as used by Red Bull Racing from the first race. We could and should have got both cars into Q2. Everyone else has also made a step forwards, but compared to the others, I think we have made a bigger step, which should have moved us up the scale of values. Unfortunately, this afternoon, we didn’t get it right.”
