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Following his successful weekend in Hungary, Toro Rosso team principal believes that Pierre Gasly is now a "mature driver". The Frenchman put in an admirable performance in qualifying, getting the better of Max Verstappen in tricky conditions, and placing his car in sixth place.
The 2016 Formula 2 champion drove faultlessly during the race, gaping himself to the Haas of Kevin Magnussen behind. It was Gasly's third point's finish of the season, having also scored big in Bahrain and Monaco.
26 of Toro Rosso's 28 points have been scored by the 22-year-old this year, and after his impressive display in Budapest, Tost has praised the Red Bull junior driver: "From FP1 we were competitive," Tost told Autosport.
"Pierre was nearly always within the first 10, and I was quite convinced that we could do a good job, and that we could score points. That we could finish in sixth position in qualifying, I was not sure about this. But we did a very good qualifying in difficult conditions, which showed that the car in the wet was very competitive.
"Both drivers did a very good job, I must say. Pierre had a good start, and defended his sixth position, and brought it home without any troubles. He controlled the race - when he had to go a little bit faster he did it immediately - and he had no problem with the tyres or fuel saving.
"He showed a fantastic performance, and he's become a really mature driver. He's improving his performance, his understanding. F1 is complicated, but he's using all the tools to his advantage, and I'm really impressed."
Toro Rosso was a cause for concern heading into the 2018 season, having signed an engine deal with Honda, who spent three woeful years with McLaren. However, it has proven it can fight for points at some stages throughout the year.
Tost however, admits concerns that Toro Rosso's rivals seem to be developing faster than them: "From our side we have improved the performance, but the main problem for us is that our direct opponents like Haas and Sauber have improved even more. They are really strong, very competitive, and [in] the next two races it will be difficult to get them under control. But for Singapore I'm quite optimistic."
Fergal Walsh
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