Toro Rosso satisfied but still searching for better set-up
A difficult day was provided by the changing weather as the teams hit the track at the Hockenheimring for the German GP. The Toro Rosso duo faced the inclement weather and the inexperience deterred them from getting the best out of the car and four types of tires, although despite this Sebastian Buemi managed seventh place in FP1.
Sebastien Buemi:(STR5-02)
“The morning session went well, as the driver can make more of a difference in the wet conditions and I was P7, looking competitive, but in the dry, we need to find a better set-up. Therefore, we need to work hard now, analysing the data to try and improve the car for tomorrow. We had some new elements on the car here, so we have to assess how to get the best from them. The dry tyre comparison went well and we have a pretty clear picture of how to use them.”
First Practice Session - Best lap 1.28.114, pos. 7th, 31 laps
Second Practice Session - Best lap 1.18.147, pos. 17th, 45 laps
Jaime Alguersuari: (STR5-03)
“It was an interesting day, dealing with both wet and dry conditions. We can be reasonably satisfied, because we completed a lot of laps and I am pleased not to have made any mistakes in the wet. However, my lack of experience at this track meant I was unable to make the most of the super-soft Option tyre, setting my fastest lap on old tyres, so a good run on new tyres could have made a significant difference to my lap time. At least I now know the track, although my confidence was not so high in these mixed conditions.”
First Practice Session - Best lap 1.29.366, pos. 16th, 34 laps
Second Practice Session - Best lap 1.19.327, pos. 18th, 48 laps
Laurent Mekies (Chief Engineer): “We had a trouble free day with both drivers completing a lot of laps. In the morning, we were able to evaluate the extreme wet and the intermediate tyres, working in race conditions, to see in what situations both compounds were at their best. Jaime even tried the dry tyres in damp conditions this morning, which is good in terms of him building experience. Overall, in these difficult conditions, the drivers made no mistakes which is another positive element. This afternoon, in the dry, we returned to our routine Friday work, evaluating different aero components, as well as working on car set-up on the two dry tyre compounds. Both behaved quite well and the results of running on the two rain tyres in the morning also proved that they last well on this track.”
