Toro Rosso finds car unsuitable to Yas Marina circuit
Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari are not on the starting grid where they were in the last couple of races. While their cars improved compared to free practice, the track doesn't particularly suit the STR6, hence their 13th and 15th positions.
Sebastien Buemi, STR6-03, Pos. 13th:
FP3: Best lap 1:41.622, pos. 15th, 18 laps
Q: Best lap: (Q1) 1:41.737; (Q2) 1:41.009
“Overall, I am reasonably satisfied with my own performance, even if I am only thirteenth, one tenth of a second off eleventh place, which shows it was quite a difficult session. But I think that, in the cockpit I did a good job and unfortunately, the fact this track is much slower than those at the last three races has not suited us so well. Tomorrow’s race will be tough and long and anything could happen and I will be looking to exploit any opportunity that comes my way and I should be able to fight with those cars directly in front of me on the grid.”
Jaime Alguersuari, STR6-02, Pos. 15th:
FP3: Best lap 1:41.855, pos. 16th, 18 laps
Q: Best lap (Q1) 1:41.386; (Q2) 1:41.162
“I am pleased that we managed to improve the car from the free practice session to qualifying and I believe we have made the right choices for the race in terms of downforce levels and other set-up tools. We are often more competitive in the race than in qualifying and I believe that will be the case tomorrow, more so than in recent races as this has not been the best track for us. But I do not think my grid position is that bad and I am convinced I can work my way up into a points position by the end of the night.”
Giorgio Ascanelli, Team Principal:
“We are running at a track where car balance, which is our forte, is not so crucial, while braking and sheer grip is more important and we are not so good in these areas, although I should make it clear that is no reflection on Brembo who is doing a good job for us. We struggled a bit in finding the best set up, however given the situation we found ourselves in yesterday, I would say we have made a step forward today. Overall therefore, these positions are not too disappointing. This is a case where we can apply the cliché that we should be better in race trim than in qualifying: Sergio is a tenth ahead and Kobayashi is a tenth behind, so it should be an interesting and exciting battle tomorrow evening. Fortunately for Pirelli, but unfortunately for us, the tyre situation looks stable so I am not expecting any unusual developments on that front to come along and help us and make it more fun.”
