Scuderia Toro Rosso Head of Vehicle Performance Guillaume Dezoteux hailed on an extraordinary day for his team at the German Grand Prix on Sunday.
Daniil Kvyat‘s third place finish was the Italian outfit’s first podium since they took their first ever Formula 1 victory at the 2008 Italian Grand Prix, courtesy of Sebastian Vettel.
Team-mate Alexander Albon came home in a career-best sixth in a wet race that he had no experience previously in an F1 car, rounding off a remarkable day for everyone at Toro Rosso.
Dezoteux was pleased to see his squad make “no mistakes” during the event.
“What a race! This is an amazing result for us and it has been a fantastic team effort to achieve it, here at the track, in our Operations Rooms in Faenza and Bicester and from Sakura,” Dezoteux said.
“Today was about being on the right tyre at the right time and making no mistakes. The pit-wall discussions were intense during the entire race, engineers were managing the situation well, the mechanics made no mistakes, we had good pitstops and obviously, both drivers showed a fantastic drive.”
A sensational day for Honda as well. With the inclusion of Max Verstappen‘s win, it is the first time since the 1992 Portuguese Grand Prix that the Japanese engine manufacturer has had two cars on the podium. According to Dezoteux, the Hockenheim result “gives a lot of motivation to everyone for the rest of the season”.
“Daniil was on it straight from the start, making no mistakes and giving good feedback in those epic conditions,” Dezoteux added. “Alex has been amazing if you consider it was the first time he ran our car in the wet!
“Both have been able to keep their head down, trust our decisions and push to the end. This is a great day for STR and Honda and gives a lot of motivation to everyone for the rest of the season.”
Twenty-three points from one Grand Prix alone is the highest the team has achieved in its history. The great hall of points has elevated Toro Rosso to fifth in the Constructors’ Championship, three points above Renault F1 Team and twenty-eight behind fourth place McLaren F1 Team.
