Two points a welcome addition to Toro Rosso's tally
Toro Rosso gathered two points from today's Belgian Grand Prix, thanks to Daniil Kvyat's 9th place finish. Jean-Eric Vergne's race was compromised by a higher downforce set-up. HE finished 11th.
Daniil Kvyat, STR9-04, 10th (9th after penalty for Magnussen): “This was a good but tough race, especially the end where I was defending my position against Hulkenberg who was on new options. That was quite thrilling, as I had to look after my tyres and at the same time fight to keep tenth place. The car handling during the race was good and I was quite pleased that the weather stayed dry. All in all, it was a positive weekend, where we were able to improve step by step and I’m happy to take away a point from this race. I can’t wait to get back into the car in two weeks’ time when we will be in Monza.”
Jean-Eric Vergne, STR9-01, 12th (11th after penalty for Magnussen): "The start wasn't great. There were some cars already passing me by on the straight and I couldn't do anything to defend myself. It's a bit frustrating to sit in the traffic, with my tyres which didn't last very long and suffering of a lack of performance. We need now to have a look at all the data to see if there is anything we can do to be back in Monza in a better condition. We are not far from the points but we need to sort a few things out, have a clean weekend and score some points at our home Grand Prix."
Franz Tost, Team Principal: "First of all congratulations to Daniel Riccardo and Red Bull for another win. Daniel's race was very exciting, so really well done! As for us, Daniil scored another point which is quite important for the team and for the Constructor Championship. Unfortunately, our performance during the race was not on a level to be able to fight and beat the teams which were in front of us. Both our drivers did a very good job, always pushing as much as possible. We leave this great circuit with a tenth position and we are looking forward to our home Grand Prix in Monza."
Ricardo Penteado, Renault Sport F1 track support leader: “The race was clean for us in terms of energy and fuel management on Daniil’s car so it was a shame to come away with just one point. On JEV’s car the different car set up possibly offset the pace we could have had, making it difficult to overtake, but the potential is there. It gives us momentum going forward to the team’s home race in Monza in two weeks.”
