Toro Rosso car on the level of Williams - Sainz

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Toro Rosso car on the level of Williams - Sainz

Published on 10 Apr 2015 12:14
1
By: Rob Veenstra

Carlos Sainz says Toro Rosso must capitalise on its strong start to the 2015 season. The Spaniard, and his fellow rookie teammate Max Verstappen, have had a strong start as they currently sitting ahead of McLaren, Lotus, Force India and even the senior team Red Bull in the constructors' standings.

Not only that, Sauber is within grasp and even the former Mercedes challenger Williams is not far away, 20-year-old Sainz was quoted in China by Spain's El Confidencial. But he warned that the situation may not last. "The car is very nice to drive," said Sainz jr, "but this is only the beginning of the year."

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"Our goal must be to use this opportunity at the start to get a lot of points, as Force India did last year. As the season progresses," he admitted, "there will be teams like Red Bull and McLaren that will improve and get ahead of us. There is a very interesting battle between Sauber, Lotus and us," said Sainz. "While Red Bull struggles they will fight with us, but I think they will go ahead in the next few races."

But that doesn't mean the Toro Rosso is not a good car on merit. A team insider even referred to the STR10 as a "rocket", given that the Renault engine is not the best on the grid. Sainz agreed: "I think we have a great car in the corners. In terms of downforce and cornering we are on the level of Williams, we just need more top speed, but hopefully it will come during the year and we can start fighting with them."

Daniel Ricciardo, the lead driver for senior team Red Bull, agreed: "You have to take your hats off to them (Toro Rosso). The team and the drivers have done everything right. For us it is frustrating, but we know why we are behind them. Without wanting to detract from their performance," the Australian added, "if we get our problems under control, we will put our noses in front again." (GMM)

F1 News Max Verstappen Daniel Ricciardo McLaren Force India Renault Mercedes Sauber Williams Lotus F1

Replies (1)

khasmir

Posts: 893
Hmmm, not sure about that, Williams may have lost some ground compared to others around them, in FP2 TR were a second behind them.
But it seems TR have a pretty good car and they need to capitalize on it before others catch up. Maybe even RB could learn a thing or two from them ;)
But judging from FP2 times, RB seems to be doing quite well despite still having brake issues. Maybe they could be the surprise of this weekend, who knows.
Looking forward to Q tomorrow, pretty sure Merc will be at the top but Ferrari might have equal or even better race pace. I hope it's hot and sunny on Sunday ;)
And who knows, even RB might stir things up a bit, hard to say atm, will depend if their race pace is anything like they have shown so far.
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- Apr 10 2015 - 20:20