SCUDERIA TORO ROSSO 2011

31.07.2011 DOUBLE POINTS FINISH FOR TORO ROSSO AS IT MARKS UP ITS 100TH GRAND PRIX

TORO ROSSO STR6 FERRARI
TORO ROSSO STR6 FERRARI
TORO ROSSO STR6 FERRARI

At the Hungaroring this afternoon Scuderia Toro Rosso celebrated its 100th grand prix since the Italian Minardi F1 team was bought by Red Bull, and renamed after its energy drink product, in some style, as both drivers, Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari, finished in the points in the Ferrari V8-powered STR6 after a long and fraught race.

The combined total of five constructors points - the biggest haul of the season so far - moves the team onto 22 points after 11 rounds. The Faenza, Italy-based outfit remains in eighth place in the constructors championship, four adrift of seventh placed Force India, which picked up 6 points in today's Hungarian Grand Prix, but a clear eighteen ahead of ninth placed Williams.

Sebastien Buemi (STR6-04) Pos. 8th

"A fantastic race, one of my best. Starting right from the back row I got a super start and I passed around ten cars on the opening lap. After that, I got into a good rhythm and was able to pass more cars on the damp track. Then, as it began to dry, I felt the set-up was not perfect and I had too much understeer. I tried not to get upset about it and then the team did a very good job, working at the pit stop to change the wing angle which helped me to save the tyres better and the stop was quick enough for me to jump up a few places. When the rain returned, I again felt the car was working very well and I was able to run at a good pace again, which helped me get into the points. It’s nice to go on holiday now with another 4 points in the bag, especially starting with that five place grid penalty. There were plenty of exciting moments, especially my passing move on Kobayashi. I was too slow to catch up with him on the straight so I had to pass him under braking which was right on the limit. It’s great to have this result, which owes something to such a good strategy."

Jaime Alguersuari (STR6-01) Pos. 10th

"Congratulations to the team for getting both cars into the points. Today, it was clear in my mind that I could have finished seventh. I made one of my pit stops just as it began raining slightly again. With the tyres not yet up to temperature, at that point it was hard to stay on the track and I went off. But I carried on fighting and towards the end, it was unfortunate that I lost another place after the collision with Kobayashi, but as a team performance we can consider we did a good job today, so it is a nice way to go into the short break, although I can’t wait to start again in Spa."

Franz Tost (Team Principal)

"With some help from two excellent performances from our drivers, the team gave itself the best possible present to celebrate Scuderia Toro Rosso’s one hundredth Grand Prix, since we first took to the track in Bahrain in 2006. A combined eighth and tenth place finish is our best result of the season so far and from a strategy point of view, the team did an excellent job in difficult and changeable conditions, while the drivers made the most of that, delivering faultless drives without making any mistakes. Their lap times were also impressive this afternoon, so there are plenty of reasons to look forward to the rest of the season. Congratulations to everyone in the team at the track and those who work so hard at our factory and in the wind tunnel. They deserve the short break we have ahead of us, before returning to continue the fight in Spa- Francorchamps."
 

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