Quite impressed by Vergne and Ricciardo

Franz Tost, the director of the Toro Rosso team, reflected on the start of the season for his two drivers, Jean-Eric Vergne – who is making his F1 debut this year, and Daniel Ricciardo – for whom it is the first year with Toro Rosso.

The director of the Italian team explained in an interview with the official Formula 1 website that he was satisfied with the performances of both men since the beginning of the year: «For the moment, I have to say they are both very competent, and they have both, for the moment, delivered good performances. Daniel scored points in his first race with us in Melbourne, finishing 9th, and Jean-Eric finished in 8th position in Sepang, which shows there is a lot of potential. The progress both are making is very promising, so I have to say that for the moment, we are satisfied.»

Tost also stated that he expects a good driver to deliver a very good performance at least once a year, and for him, this has already happened for Ricciardo and Vergne: «What I expect is that a very competent driver delivers at least a spark. Daniel did it in Bahrain in my opinion because it was a fantastic performance (6th on the grid, editor’s note) and Jean-Eric did it in Monaco. Being 7th (before an unsuccessful tire gamble, editor’s note) when it was his first time in Monaco is something remarkable!»

But since those 6 points scored at the beginning of the season, the Faenza-based team hasn’t been able to finish in the top 10. Asked if the STR7 had regressed, Tost believes not: «We haven’t really taken a step backward, but our rivals might be working better. Maybe we’ve gained two or three tenths (since the start of the year), but others might have gained four or five tenths. They may have found better solutions, but perhaps our development speed simply hasn’t been fast enough.»

The director of the Toro Rosso team therefore hopes that the team will be able to perform better in the second half of the season, in order to score points more regularly: «We want to have a car with which our drivers can position themselves in the middle of the pack, qualifying between 9th and 12th place and fighting to finish 9th or 10th, scoring one, two, or three points. That is the objective. The leaders are far ahead. But the midfield has become very competitive. Sauber, Williams, Force India – and Caterham – are catching up, so it’s up to us to do better.

Franz Tost also reflected on his methods with young drivers, a former driver having described his experience with the Italian team as harsh: “Are you sure that’s the word ‘harsh’ that was used? I don’t recall ever being severe! (laughs) Let me make things clear, a driver might have a hard time with me if he’s not focused and can’t find the right pedal. It’s as simple as that. We work very hard and do our best, but you know sometimes young drivers come into Formula 1 and think they’ve made it. But that’s wrong. Getting into Formula 1 means you’re ready to start working very hard. Everything you’ve done before is like kindergarten. (laughs) Being in Formula 1 means you live 365 days a year and 24 hours a day for Formula 1. And if I feel that one of our drivers isn’t doing that, then he can have problems. Then, I give him a hard time because either you’re a professional or you leave. It’s as simple as that.”