Thursday: Alguersuari does not have complete confidence in his Toro Rosso

Sébastien Buemi – 12th and 14th:

«It’s a great track with a fantastic atmosphere so I always love driving here even though it’s very demanding. This year, they have re-asphalted most of the track and it’s no longer really a city circuit with very good asphalt.

Technically, it was a positive first day and we have a day to analyze the data, which will be very useful. We have a good idea of tire wear, with the soft tires seeming faster, which will be helpful in qualifying but also in the race, because the level of degradation we expected with these tires was not evident today.

At the end of the second session, I hit the rail at the Tobacco Shop and damaged the rear suspension so I had to return to the pits.

Jaime Alguersuari – Not classified and 17th:

I love the challenge of this city circuit. It was a very useful afternoon of testing for me, highlighting things we need to look at in detail. I am not sure about the situation regarding tire degradation. My initial reaction is that the long stints seem good. For now, the main thing is that I need to have a bit more confidence in the car. Since Spain, I haven’t had a very good feeling with the braking, and I lose the rear, so we need to work on this aspect. I’m sure we can fix that because we know what we need to do and how to do it.

Daniel Ricciardo – 14th and Not classified:

I covered the basics this morning, looking at things like ride height and aerodynamics on the car, gathering data to help the team. We looked in detail at the KERS, to see how to use it best on the track.

Before driving the Toro Rosso, I had a test session for the World Series. It was a good experience because few drivers have two sessions in one morning.

« The first time you drive an F1 in Monaco, it’s always difficult, so it was good to get in the other car and see the track again for the first time since last year. Driving a Formula One car here is something crazy and very fun. »