Friday: Toro Rosso confirms its return to form

Toro Rosso and particularly, Sébastien Buemi, are starting the weekend in the best possible way. The young Swiss driver, after an accident in the morning session, recorded the second fastest time of the afternoon session and the second fastest time of the day, just 0.043 seconds behind Fernando Alonso’s best time. Sébastien Buemi demonstrates that Toro Rosso’s pace seen in Japan was not just a flash in the pan and that the latest updates to the car are working perfectly.

For his part, Jaime Alguersuari is relegated to the penultimate position in each of the free practice sessions on Friday. Both Toro Rosso drivers are discovering the track and yet, the young Spaniard is 7 tenths behind his teammate. Alguersuari loses time to Buemi in each sector but particularly in the second, considered the most technical on the circuit. The Spaniard states that he has not yet found the right settings.

Sébastien Buemi – 13th and 2nd:

«I am happy: it seems that we were competitive this afternoon. The mechanics did an excellent job repairing the car after my accident this morning. I came up very quickly behind Liuzzi, who was driving slowly on the line, and in trying to pass him, I went over a kerb. I then lost control and spun. I think we showed good speed, even though it’s my first time driving on this track. Now, we have a solid base on which to improve tomorrow, after analyzing the data. Today’s session showed that our pace in Japan was not by chance. I am therefore confident for the rest of the weekend.»

Jaime Alguersuari – 19th and 19th:

I enjoyed my first day on this track, which offers a pleasant mix of high-speed curves and slow turns, making it a very nice circuit to drive on. Overall, the free practice sessions went well, although I think it was tricky when the track was wet. I keep learning and increasing my pace. We still have room to improve the car’s setup tomorrow, especially with the super-soft tires, but I am already satisfied.