Scuderia Toro Rosso
got both its cars into the top ten of the grid this
afternoon at the brand new Buddha circuit in India; it
was the first time the two Ferrari V8-powered cars had
made it to the Q3 session since the Chinese Grand Prix.
Sebastien Buemi just
edged out team mate Jaime Alguersuari in the Q2 session
as they posted the ninth and tenth fastest times to go
through to the final runs. Electing to conserve tyres
however, neither driver ran in the Q3 session and with
start side-by-side on the fifth row of the grid in
tomorrow's inaugural Indian Grand Prix.
Sebastien
Buemi (STR6-03) Pos.
9th
"I am very happy for the team as they did a fantastic
job and I congratulate them and thank them for it.
Having both cars in Q3 is amazing. Now, I hope we can
have a good race tomorrow, because there are no points
for what we did today. The first race at this circuit is
bound to be an interesting experience. It was teamwork
that delivered today’s result, with everyone giving
their maximum since we arrived here in India."
Third Practice Session -
Best lap 1:39.964, pos. 13th, 21 laps; Qualifying - Best
lap: (Q1) 1:26.608; (Q2) 1:26.161; (Q3) no time.
Jaime Alguersuari (STR6-02)
Pos. 10th
"I am very happy, especially
for the team as we are both in good positions and
Sebastien was really fast, right from yesterday, when I
had some problems. Today he drove a brilliant lap. We
solved my problems overnight so that I could also be
competitive today. Tomorrow, we have a good chance of
doing well starting from these positions and it could be
useful in terms of the championship as our main rivals,
the Saubers, are starting behind us. Strategy will be
important and if we do everything right then maybe we
can bring home a big points score. The increase in
performance at this point of the season is down to the
great job the whole company has done in developing the
car. I am hoping for a top eight finish tomorrow."
Third Practice Session -
Best lap 1:39.851, pos. 12th, 20 laps; Qualifying - Best
lap (Q1) 1:26.557; (Q2) 1:26.319; (Q3) no time.
Laurent Mekies (Chief Engineer)
"A great performance from the
drivers and the team today means we have both cars in
the top ten on the grid for the first time since China.
It has been a complicated task managing the situation of
having massive track improvement from one session to the
next , combined with the fact this is a new circuit for
all of us. Our car is definitely getting faster as we
approach the end of the season. We were quite happy with
the progress we saw in Korea and today’s performance is
a confirmation that we are working in the right
direction. This is good for everyone back at the factory
and in the wind tunnel who are pushing hard on the
development of the car. Of course, there are no points
for qualifying and although today’s result puts us in a
strong position for the race, there are question marks
over what the track conditions will be like and how much
tyre degradation we will see. I expect it will be an
exciting race for the spectators, with various different
strategies coming into play and hopefully we can make
the most of our opportunities and secure a good result,
on our first visit to this fantastic track."
