Toro Rosso: A double retirement to end the season

The series of punctures experienced by Daniil Kvyat during Friday’s practice sessions set the tone for a challenging weekend for Toro Rosso. Unfortunately, the trend continued on Sunday, and neither the Russian nor his teammate Carlos Sainz finished the race.

« It’s a shame that we had to retire because the race wasn’t so bad after only completing five laps in the practice sessions. We were battling with the Haas and the Renaults, and I had a lot of fun, gaining quite a few places at the start and with some overtaking afterward. It’s a shame that we had a gearbox problem which meant I had to stop the car and retire. » stated Kvyat after his race.

But the Russian didn’t lose everything and was able to take a ride… on a bike to reach his stand: « So, I decided to go for a little bike ride! It’s as if my entire season was summed up in one race weekend! I’m now very excited for 2017 to arrive, but first it’s time to rest a bit, spend time with friends and family before training very hard during the winter to come back stronger than ever next season. »

Frustration was also evident for Carlos Sainz. The Spaniard led a solid race before being hit by Jolyon Palmer’s Renault at the end of the race, ending his Grand Prix: « It was a rather positive race before the accident. I was 14th after starting 21st, I overtook the Manors, the Saubers, and the Renaults… so it was a good race and it’s really a shame that Palmer came and hit me. I enjoyed myself and it was nice to see that we managed to bounce back after a very difficult weekend », concluded the Spaniard.