While the Red Bull
team was romping to a 1-2 victory in the German Grand Prix
at the Nürburgring on Sunday afternoon the sister Scuderia
Toro Rosso outfit was stuttering at the back of the field
with Sebastien Buemi finishing in 16th place while team mate
Sebastien Bourdais went out after 18 laps. The team from
Faenza in Italy has slipped right to the back of the field
in recent races and there was to be no improvement in
fortunes this weekend. The team is pinning its hopes on a
new aero package that is due to debut in Hungary improving
its competitiveness.
In qualifying
neither Toro Rosso driver made it through the first session
leaving Buemi to start from 17th place and Bourdais 20th and
dead-last. In the race the team again suffered from being
unable to get the best out of the Bridgestone tyres and
while the young Swiss rookie made a good start and took some
places, the French former triple ChampCar title winner
suffered worsening hydraulic problems that put him out just
before one-third distance. Buemi struggled with grip during
the race and came home 16th, half a second ahead of the
Toyota of Jarno Trulli.
Sebastien Buemi
(STR4-03) Pos. 16th
“It was a difficult
race, although I had a good start and the opening laps went
well. When we put on the soft tyres at the pit stop, I
suffered with a loss of grip and kept sliding as I struggled
to get them up to temperature. In the final stint it was the
same story. It was not a positive outcome, but we will have
new updates at the next race and we should be more
competitive.”
Sebastien Bourdais
(STR4-01) Retired
“On the warm up
laps we weren’t so happy with the option tyre so we decided
to start on the prime, which I think was a good call. But
then I began to lose hydraulic pressure and so I lost the
power steering, clutch and eventually everything else and so
I had to pull in. It’s a shame of course, because although
we were at the back at the time, I think we had a good
strategy, with a heavy fuel load and, even running on primes
we could manage the gap to those ahead of us, staying in
touch with them.”
Franz Tost (Team
Principal)
“Once again,
well done to Red Bull Racing for a fantastic performance. As
for our race, we unfortunately suffered a hydraulic failure
on Bourdais’ car. With Buemi, after a good start where he
moved up four places, he complained of lacking grip and he
kept locking the rears. Now, we must hope that with the new
aerodynamic package we will have in Hungary, we can begin to
close the gap and move up the order.”
