Scuderia Toro Rosso Team Principal Franz Tost described the Japanese Grand Prix as a “very frustrating and difficult weekend” for the team, who didn’t pick up any points in the race.
In his last race for the team before making the switch to Renault Sport F1 Team for the United States Grand Prix, Carlos Sainz Jr. crashed on the first lap of the race. The Spaniard started from the back of the grid after the team had to change his power unit.
Pierre Gasly fared better than his team-mate in the race but was only able to finish thirteenth behind Jolyon Palmer. Both Gasly and Tost didn’t think that the car was at the pace they were hoping for.
“A very frustrating and difficult weekend for us. Carlos had to start today’s race from the back of the grid because we had to change the complete Power Unit.” said Tost.
“He then went off half-way through the first lap and this meant that his race was over, unfortunately. Pierre started from fourteenth and was close to scoring a point, but we had to end up doing an extra pit-stop, which meant that, in the end, he finished in thirteenth.
The positive is that he finished the race and continued to gain experience at the wheel of the car. Generally, our pace over the weekend was not at the level we expected but, hopefully, we can improve in the next couple of back-to-back races in two weeks’ time.”
Toro Rosso still find themselves sixth in the World Constructors’ Championship heading to the next race, although Haas F1 Team were able to close the gap between the two after finishing eighth and ninth.