Saturday: Ricciardo and Vergne create a gap at Toro Rosso

Daniel Ricciardo – 8th and 6th:

« It’s a great feeling and I’m very happy with this result. We had a below-average weekend in China with the new developments we introduced. We persevered with them and made them work significantly better, thanks to the hard work accomplished by the entire team. My communication with the team was also very good and it helped us get into Q3.

I was satisfied with my driving and I was getting better with each session. We don’t have days like these every day, so I’m savoring it while keeping in mind that tomorrow is what matters. Now we have to put everything together for the race and tonight we will review all our strategic options with the tires. Starting from 6th position helps approach a race with confidence. I must stay focused on the idea of scoring as many points as possible, as this is the best chance we’ve had so far. I hope I’ll still be smiling tomorrow night.

Jean-Eric Vergne – 12th and 19th [18th on the grid]:

I don’t understand why I was so slow this afternoon, especially when the car was performing well this morning and Daniel was able to deliver an impressive performance. Well done to him. I look forward to meeting with my engineers to study the data and find out why I couldn’t achieve the performance I was hoping for. The track was three degrees warmer this afternoon than this morning, but I don’t think that was the reason.

I have already surged towards the back of the grid and then maintained a good race pace, so, given that I think the car has potential, that’s what I plan to do tomorrow.