Friday: Toro Rosso still has work to do
Daniel Ricciardo was the first to hit the track this morning for the free practice of the Australian Grand Prix. The Toro Rosso driver was not completely satisfied with his car and even though the situation improved throughout the day, it's still not perfect. Jean-Eric Vergne also believes that the STR8 still lacks speed, even if the race pace seems good.
Daniel Ricciardo – 18th and 14th:
During FP1, it quickly became clear that we were not where we wanted to be in terms of balance and setup. So, we made some changes and it helped. I feel that we’ve made progress since this morning, but not enough. We still need to work before tomorrow to find more speed. It’s nice to drive at home again. It’s extra motivation to work hard to make the car faster and give the fans something to cheer about on Sunday.
Jean-Eric Vergne – 17th and 17th:
« It’s really nice to be back on track for the first Grand Prix. I’m happy to be back in the car. The biggest change compared to winter testing comes from the higher temperatures. It means the tires performed much better today. We still have some work to do to get closer to the cars in front, and I think we’re lacking a bit of speed at the moment. However, our long runs seem quite good, and the car’s balance was okay. »
