italiaspeed.com

So long in Ferrari's shadow, Scuderia Toro Rosso, the other Italian team, entered the F1 record books with its first ever victory nearly quarter of century after the Faenza-based outfit entered grand prix racing under the Minardi name.

So long in languishing in Ferrari's shadow, Scuderia Toro Rosso, the 'other' Italian F1 team, put its name into the F1 record books with its first ever victory, which came this afternoon at Monza, nearly quarter of century after the Faenza-based outfit first entered grand prix racing under the Minardi name. The Ferrari-powered team put its Maranello engine supplier, and all its rivals, into the shade today thanks to superb strategy and pitwork, along with a brilliant drive in the wet conditions from Sebastian Vettel, who in the process became the youngest-ever F1 winner.

The weekend has all been about Toro Rosso and Vettel. On Saturday he was fastest in Q2 and then in the all important Q3, he became the youngest ever driver to take pole position for a grand prix. Today, he went one further, becoming the youngest ever driver to win a Grand Prix. And he didn’t just win it, he demolished the opposition, consistently the quickest man on track. Sure, he was the only driver who had good visibility in the atrocious conditions in the early stages, but then that’s your right when you start from pole. Brilliant from start to finish, he never put a foot wrong.

Not until Vettel stood on the podium did he let his emotion show, his delight clear for all to see, with the entire team applauding and cheering him from the pit lane below. He was literally head and shoulders above the rest. And it was a poignant moment, as he was joined up there by Gerhard Berger, team co-owner picking up the team prize. Twenty years ago, Berger had been there before holding aloft the winner’s trophy after securing a memorable victory for Ferrari, shortly after the death of Enzo Ferrari.

Scuderia Toro Rosso easily outclassed the senior Red Bull squad today, and Vettel's 10-points for the win added to the team's recent run of good form, elevate the Italian squad to sixth place in the constructors' championship with 27 points. Red Bull are behind Toro Rosso, on 26 pts, as are Williams (17 pts), Honda (14 pts) and Force India, who have failed to collect any points. In the drivers' classification Vettel is now 9th with 23 points whilst team mate Bourdais is 17th with 4 points.

Sebastian Vettel (STR3-03) Pos. 1st: “A fantastic race, a fantastic weekend with pole as well and a fantastic strategy this afternoon. As for the podium ceremony it was unbelievable and this is the best day of my life. I will never forget these feelings. It is so unbelievable. It is better than I had ever expected. A big thank you to everyone in the team for their great work. After a poor start to the season, we got better and better. Maybe in today’s conditions, we could close the gap with a bit more effort or by staying on the throttle a bit longer. I’m speechless. As for the race, we were very fast in a straight line because we didn’t go for high downforce as we thought it might be dry, so we stayed on the dry level. Being out in front with no visibility problems was the key and I could build up a solid gap to Heikki straightaway. Then I was pushing very hard, maybe going over the limit sometimes and I nearly lost the car. In the last stint I was in a very good position on the intermediate tyre. I couldn’t believe it when it kept saying “P1” on my board. But I kept my focus and kept pushing so as not to lose concentration. A perfect weekend.”

Sébastien Bourdais (STR3-04) Pos. 18th: “I’m not sure what happened on the grid. When I tried to get first I couldn’t and so then I let go of the flipper a bit quickly and when the gear selected I stalled, when normally the antistall should have come in. Then we couldn’t get neutral and that was it, I had lost a lap immediately as the race started behind the Safety Car. It should have been a dream weekend with a chance of finishing first and third but sadly for me, it was first and nothing. However, this has been a great day for Sebastian and the team.”

Franz Tost: “This was Vettel’s race weekend. From Friday onwards, he controlled the pace and the situation and today, from start to finish, he drove a fantastic race without any mistakes under very difficult circumstances. I think today he showed that he will become a very successful Formula 1 driver. It was unfortunate for Bourdais that he had a problem on the grid, as he too had a good weekend up until today. The team, under the direction of Giorgio Ascanell also did a fantastically good job in terms of being prepared for the race and in how it executed the strategy and pit stops and we can all be proud of what we have achieved. It was great to get this result here in Monza in our home Grand Prix and I am particularly happy for Gerhard who has waited twenty years to get back on the Monza podium as a winner.”