Friday: Toro Rosso tests a lot and hopes
The Toro Rosso team arrived in Sepang for the second Grand Prix of the season with confidence. They have already scored three points in Melbourne last weekend and hope to do so again on Sunday. To this end, Sébastien Buemi and Sébastien Bourdais have tested different setups, downforce, and especially tires to prepare for any […]
The Toro Rosso team arrived in Sepang for the second Grand Prix of the season with confidence. They have already scored three points in Melbourne last weekend and hope to do so again on Sunday. To this end, Sébastien Buemi and Sébastien Bourdais have tested different setups, downforce, and especially tires to prepare for any eventuality during the race: rain is threatening.
Buemi has already settled in well. He already knows the track and seems to have the upper hand on his teammate Sébastien Bourdais. The two men do not agree on the track conditions, however. One sees a changing track, the other, a constant track. It has been hot, the bodies are suffering, but hopes are high for the qualifications and the rest of the weekend.
Sébastien Buemi – 17th and 13th:
« I raced here in GP2 last year, so I already know the track. It’s different, of course, in an F1, but I don’t have too much trouble adapting. The heat didn’t bother me too much and you just have to drink enough to compensate for the sweating. »
« Today, the track remained quite consistent, which allowed us to try different setups on the car. I am very happy with what we saw. In terms of tires, it doesn’t seem that the differences between the two types of compounds are too significant. Additionally, it seems that tire degradation is much slower than in Melbourne. We are quite fast today, but there is still much to do. We are aiming for Q2 tomorrow, who knows? It might even rain… »
Sébastien Bourdais – 19th and 18th:
« As was the case last year, the track evolved significantly between the start and the end of the first session, and again during the second. The track conditions changed a lot and the few drops of rain did not help us to properly assess the situation. This afternoon, we tried to make changes to the car but ended up going down a dead end. »
« We are still trying to figure out what works and what is less beneficial for the car. I feel like there was a big difference in terms of grip between the soft and hard tires, and I wasn’t able to get to the essence of it. A long stint on soft tires was quite satisfying, and I was quite happy with the overall balance compared to what we had for the short stints, and that’s rather encouraging. »
