It was a very disappointing evening in the desert for the Scuderia Toro Rosso team, with both Carlos Sainz Jr and Max Verstappen being forced to retire from the Bahrain Grand Prix just after the half distance mark.
Sainz was disappointed with his race, especially after his excellent qualifying on Saturday, but was unsure on the cause of his retirement. He bemoaned a lack of pace around the Sakhir circuit but hopes to get back on the pace next time out in his homeland.
“Quite a disappointing day today for all of us, especially after such a good qualifying yesterday,” insisted Sainz. “I don’t know what happened to my car today, I just know that I felt something weird with its behaviour and I was forced to stop.
“I can’t hide the fact that I’m upset because we had a very good starting grid position but we suffered from a lack of pace today.
“We’ll do our best to be in good shape for the start of the European season in Barcelona, a race which will be very special for me as I will be racing at home.”
Team-mate Verstappen was also forced to retire, and had his least impressive race of his short Formula 1 career so far, with an apparent electrical issue ending the young Dutchman’s race. Like Sainz, he is hoping to come back stronger in Barcelona next month.
“It hasn’t been a positive day,” admitted Verstappen. “It was a tough race. We still don’t know the exact reason for the retirement, but it looks like an electrical issue made us end our race before time. Obviously this is not the way we would like to finish our weekend but we have to stay positive.
“I’m disappointed, but we will carry on working as hard as always in order to come back stronger in Barcelona and fight for points again. That’s where we belong!”
