Brake failure forces Buemi out of the race
Jaime Alguersuari was the Scuderia Toro Rosso's highest placed driver at the European grand prix, finishing 16th at the Valencia street cicruit. Team mate Sébastien Buemi was forced to retire on lap 42.
Jaime Alguersuari (STR4-02) Pos. 16th
“This was much tougher for me than Hungary, because of the heat and humidity. With ten laps remaining, I had a problem with my drinks system which meant I couldn’t get anything to drink. It was really tough and I just did my best to finish and bring home the car. On the plus side I have now done a lot more kilometres and I therefore hope this will help me do better in Spa, where at least it won’t be as hot.”
Sebastien Buemi (STR4-03) Retired
“My race was more or less over immediately after the start. I will have to watch the race to see exactly what happened. I moved to the inside to try and avoid the bottleneck and as Glock accelerated, he drove over my wing which obviously broke and the time I lost coming back to the pits to replace it meant my race was done. I carried on pushing to see what lap times I could do and what the car was capable of, but I soon had braking problems and eventually the disc broke and I had to park the car. The last few race weekends have not gone well, but you have to stay positive. The car seems to have improved, so we have the potential to do better. Let’s see at Spa.”
Franz Tost: “Unfortunately for Buemi, his race was effectively over at the first corner, when he collided with Glock, losing the front wing. He had to pit for a new nose and we assume that the accident had also damaged the left front brake duct, so the brake didn’t cool properly, which led to the failure that put him out of the race. Alguersuari did a good job to finish in these tough conditions, in what we must not forget, is only his second F1 race.”
