Sunday: Ricciardo offers new points to Toro Rosso
Daniel Ricciardo managed to finish in the top 10 at the British Grand Prix, with the Australian driver finishing in 8th place. Jean-Eric Vergne, on the other hand, did not see the checkered flag after having to retire due to a tire issue.
Daniel Ricciardo – 8th:
« It was a chaotic race, but for the most part, I was in a good position. I didn’t get the best start, but I managed to recover after that; however, I then lost time during my two stops. Towards the end of the race, I had a very good pace, but I think we could have done a bit better with a different strategy during the last safety car intervention because before that I was able to fight against the Force India and Ferrari. We had worn tires at the end, and those who opted for a third stop were able to pass me. 8th is a good result, but I see it as a missed opportunity to score more points because we were faster than the Ferraris, so finishing behind them, especially Massa who had a tire problem, is a bit disappointing. I don’t know what happened with the tires, because I saw a lot of people went off-track and there was debris everywhere. It was a bit dangerous, and we need to look into that in detail. As far as I’m concerned, I had normal degradation. »
Jean-Eric Vergne – Retirement:
I got off to a bad start, and it’s something we need to analyze because it compromised our performance. But it wouldn’t have made a big difference today due to the problem I had with my tire. I don’t know what happened; I had no prior warning, and it went off while braking. I managed to return to the pits, get new tires, and go back out, but the team immediately told me I had significant damage to the car, which I could easily feel. The car was very difficult to drive, and in the end, the team decided to retire me because it made no sense to continue. I didn’t feel in danger, but it’s a shame that such a problem can ruin the team’s entire weekend’s work. I’m really upset, and something needs to be done about it quickly. So, from a result standpoint, it’s a race to forget, but I think we showed that the car was very fast and that we can be in the fight in the upcoming races.