Franz Tost admitted he had expected the Azerbaijan Grand Prix to be a difficult one for the Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda team and so it turned out to be, which started back in Qualifying when his drivers ended up compromising each other.
The team principal of the Faenza-based squad saw Pierre Gasly and Brendon Hartley almost collide after the latter brushed the wall and suffered a puncture, only to slow down just as his team-mate was approaching the scene at speed.
Tost admitted the duo were lucky not to have a major incident but it left the duo down in seventeenth and nineteenth on the grid with a lot of work to do on race day.
“Generally speaking, it was a difficult weekend for us,” admitted Tost. “We struggled in Qualifying and therefore we had to start from seventeenth and nineteenth position on the grid.
“I was quite upset yesterday when we didn’t achieve Q2 – which was realistic because Pierre showed quite good performance and he was on a fast lap when the incident with Brendon happened. However, looking into it afterwards I must say that we have to be quite happy that nothing major occurred between them.”
Tost was pleased to see Hartley secure his first point in Formula in tenth on Sunday, but the team principal admitted it was a difficult race for Toro Rosso, and work will be needed to ensure they can show better competitiveness in the upcoming races.
“Regarding today’s race, I want to congratulate Brendon for his first point in F1!” said Tost. “We knew Baku would have been a difficult race for us, but our performance this weekend was not on the level we expected.
“We will work hard to improve and be in a better position in the next races.”
