Ricciardo gets two points for Toro Rosso
Toro Rosso are able to bring two points home from Singapore as Daniel Ricciardo fended off Mark Webber and finished 9th after 2 hours of racing. Jean-Eric Vergne was also running strong but was taken out by a mistake by Michael Schumacher.
Daniel Ricciardo, STR7-04, 9th:
“It’s great to be back in the points again and it shows we have had a really good start to the second half of the season since the summer break. Even if we haven’t always picked up the points, we have been fighting for them in the last few races. I am pleased about that. We benefited a bit from the Safety Car, but afterwards we had to fight off the guys behind us, so I am really happy with ninth place and I enjoyed having a fight with Mark (Webber) towards the end, even if I could not hold off Massa just before that. In the closing stages, I didn’t look in the mirrors too much, but I just focussed on maintaining my lap times all the way to the flag.”
Jean-Eric Vergne, STR7-03, DNF:
“Our strategy worked very well and the Safety Car also played out in our favour. My pace was very good, lapping as quickly as the front runners, so it was much better than we had expected. Overall, I am very happy with the way this weekend went, because I personally made a lot of progress from Friday through to tonight. The team also worked very well to improve the car throughout the three days. It’s just a shame it did not end with the points for eighth or maybe even seventh place. As for the accident, I was focussing on catching Perez at that point, trying to brake late to catch him, so I am not too sure what happened exactly, but I assume Michael braked a bit too late and could not avoid running in to me. There is no sense in being angry about it, because these things happen in racing and even the most experienced driver on the grid can make mistakes! He said sorry and that’s the end of it.”
Franz Tost, Team Principal:
“This race continues a positive trend for us that began in Monza a fortnight ago, when we looked set for a points finish until a fuel pressure problem stopped Daniel’s car. Here in Singapore, we managed to bring home points with Daniel finishing ninth, but it could have been better as Jean-Eric also looked set for a top ten place until the unfortunate collision with Schumacher. Both drivers did well and Daniel had a great fight with his fellow countryman Mark Webber in the closing stages, while Jean-Eric also performed very strongly on his first visit to this very demanding circuit. The team did a good job over the three days, because having struggled with performance on Friday, we managed to improve the cars for Saturday and again for today. Therefore the disappointment of Jev’s retirement is balanced by the fact that we have looked more competitive at a track that we did not expect would suit our current package. This means we are looking forward to the Japan-Korea trip with renewed optimism.”
