Toro Rosso take 4 points, but hoped for more rain
Jean-Eric Vergne get the final two points for Toro Rosso this year, even though he was not entirely happy with his performance today. Daniel Ricciardo was unlucky to have just stopped for new dry tyres before a fresh shower wetted the track. That dropped him to 13th, where he finished.
Jean-Eric Vergne, STR7-02, 8th:
“It’s good to finish eighth, however, I am not so happy with myself, because I made the decision to stay out for a long time on the dry tyres and it proved not to be the right one, costing me a lap. The team gave me the opportunity to run the race as I saw best from the cockpit and I have learned a lot of valuable lessons from today. However, if the rain had stayed away it would have been a great decision! At the restart after the Safety Car came in, I was hanging back to get a run on Glock, but as I caught up, those in front were braking hard and I ran into him and I’ve already apologised to him for that. My pace on the slick tyres in the damp conditions was very good and it’s nice to finish the final race of the season in the points.”
Daniel Ricciardo, STR7-04, 13th:
“The start was quite chaotic with several cars going off the track and people to avoid. I managed to make up a couple of places and my pace seemed okay. I was trying to hang on to those ahead as the conditions changed all the time. By around half race distance, we were looking in good shape, running in eighth or ninth place. More rain came after my first stop for fresh dry tyres, so I had to come in again, which obviously cost me time. In simple terms, it was a case of too many pit stops.”
Franz Tost, Team principal:
“First of all, on behalf of everyone at Scuderia Toro Rosso I want to congratulate Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull Racing. Three consecutive Drivers’ titles is a remarkable achievement. This Brazilian Grand Prix demonstrated what a great show Formula 1 can be, at the end of a season that was closely contested and produced many memorable moments. We too had a good day to end this long and very exciting year, as Jean-Eric Vergne finished eighth for the fourth time, bringing home four more points. The conditions were difficult to deal with as the rain came and went, making it tricky for the drivers and those on the pitwall. Both our drivers did well to stay on track under these circumstances. Jean-Eric’s race was going very well until he made contact with Glock after the re-start, which cost us time but he was able to fight back, performing strongly to the chequered flag. In Daniel’s case, we got a bit out of synch on the tyre front, as it began to rain almost immediately after we had pitted him for fresh slicks. This dropped him out of the points zone, which is why we went for the ambitious gamble of putting him on extreme tyres to try and get him back to the top ten, but the rain was not heavy enough to achieve that. Our late season improvement in form was not enough to change our ninth place in the Constructors’ championship, but it is a good way to end, especially as next year’s regulations are not very different to the ones we have now. Therefore lessons learned will help for 2013, when we hope to perform well throughout the season.”
