Scuderia Toro Rosso arrive in Monaco on the back of their most disappointing weekend of the season in Spain. Daniil Kvyat struggled and finished down in fourteenth, while team-mate Jean-Eric Vergne failed to finish after a mechanical issue. They both will be hoping the team will be fighting for points this weekend.
For Russian rookie Kvyat, it will be his first time around the legendary street circuit, and even more surprised the first ever street race in his career. His only experience has been on the simulator, and he knows it will be a difficult weekend.
“Monaco for me will be an absolutely new experience,” said Kvyat. “Not only have I never raced there, I have never even been there on a visit. Of course, I have watched a lot of races from Monaco on TV and a lot of on-board footage.
“It will really be a step into the unknown for me, even if I have now driven it on the simulator. In fact, I have never raced on any street circuit. I am really looking forward to the weekend, mainly from a driving point of view, but I also want to find out what it is that makes this race such a special event for all fans of motor sport.”
Team-mate Vergne will be hoping for better luck in the closest thing he can call a home race. The Frenchman has failed to finish three of the races so far in 2014, but has done well in both F1 races at the Monte Carlo circuit in the past. He knows that past experience counts for very little however as mistakes can be very costly.
“It’s something of a home race for me, given there is no French Grand Prix on the calendar for the moment,” said Vergne. “I have raced there twice in Formula One and both times I performed well. I think it is one of the hardest races and you should always arrive there in a humble state of mind and never expect anything just because things went well the previous year.
“I am not going there being overconfident. You have to work hard all weekend and not make any mistakes and it requires far higher levels of concentration from the beginning to the end of the weekend. We will certainly be busy in the cockpit this year, but by now we are used to all the new jobs we have to do in the car.”
