Toro Rosso fails to pick up points in China
The Scuderia Toro Rosso was unable to pick up points at the Shanghai International Circuit, venue of this afternoon's Chinese Grand Prix. Jaime Alguersuari had a strong run but was forced to make two extra stops which resulted in a 13th place. Team mate Sebastian Buemi was forced to retire after a crash with Tonio Liuzzi.
Jaime Alguersuari (STR5-03) Pos. 13th
“I tried to get points today, but in the end it wasn’t possible as I made a mistake lapping a Hispania, who was slower than me and was shown the blue flag, but he moved from side to side. I tried to get past on the right, but he came back on me and touched my wing, which is how I lost it. We tried to switch to Intermediates before everyone, but in the end I had to pit for an additional set. I did what I could in what was a crazy race. On the slick tyres, we were really fast and I got past Sutil and there were some good passing moves, but I’m disappointed with the result. Now we go to my home race in Barcelona where I hope to challenge for points again.”
Sebastien Buemi (STR5-01) Retired
“Not running on Friday was my first problem, because that means you don’t qualify so well and once you have to start the race from the middle of the pack, the risk of this type of accident is always greater. I don’t want to blame anyone for the crash, but Liuzzi lost his car and crashed into me. It has been a very difficult weekend and now we need to work and see what we can do in Barcelona. I also need a bit more luck.”
Franz Tost: “Sebastien made a good start, but unfortunately, he was hit by Liuzzi, who spun under braking. This was the second time this season that Sebastien has been involved in an accident not of his own making. Overall, he performed well this weekend up to that point, recovering from his lack of running on Friday. I’m sure a good result will come his way soon. Jaime drove another good race, even if the changing weather conditions were not so easy for him to deal with. He had to make two extra stops, once after the first lap when he thought he had damaged his front wing, after touching Kobayashi. But when he came in, we did not see any damage, so did not change it. The second stop came when he lost the front wing after a coming together with a backmarker and, but for these two extra stops, I’m convinced he could have finished in the points once again. Our car performance was good here and the team worked well in this afternoon’s complicated conditions, so we are looking forward to Spain.”
