Both Scuderia Toro Rosso drivers arrive at Spielberg for the Austrian Grand Prix hopeful of having a strong weekend. Jean-Eric Vergne will want to get back on track after impressing last time out in Canada, while Daniil Kvyat admits the circuit is one of his favourites on the calendar.
Vergne got his season back on track with a strong performance last time out in Canada that ended up with the Frenchman taking four points for eighth place at the flag. He has never raced at the circuit before and is expecting an interesting race on Sunday.
“I have never raced at this track before, but I did drive it last year in a Formula One Show Car run for Red Bull at a Renault World Series event,” said Vergne. “I remember the race was very exciting. The track is short, but really nice and I am sure it will make for a very interesting race this weekend.
“It will be an important event for us as part of the Red Bull family and so I hope we will perform well. We have to consider it as a sort of home race for Toro Rosso.”
For once, team-mate Kvyat will arrive at the track having had more recent racing at the circuit than most other drivers in Formula One. The young Russian raced at the Red Bull Ring in both 2012 and 2013.
“This is one of my favourite circuits,” admits Kvyat. “I raced here in Formula Renault Alps and had two wins there in 2012. I had a great weekend and really loved the track. Last year I went back to the Red Bull Ring with Formula 3 this time and again I had great memories taking three poles out of three, followed by three second places in the races.
“It’s my kind of track, with heavy braking points and it is quite a technical track. It has some fast and medium speed corners, which I really enjoy. Hopefully the STR9 will go well there. The scenery is beautiful, typical Austrian nature!
“It’s going to be a big weekend for the Red Bull family, but I will be concentrating on the usual jobs of getting everything sorted and finding the right set-up from first free practice, having the right approach and seeing how it goes. You need to find a good balance there as there are some reasonably long straights. But it’s mainly about high-speed corners, which is where you find most of the lap time.”
