Saturday: Both Toro Rosso cars stop in Q1

The Toro Rosso cars made noticeable progress during the various practice sessions of the Belgian Grand Prix. The Red Bull chassis used by the STR04 generates good downforce in fast corners, but the drivers faced a lack of top speed, crucial for the first and last sectors of the circuit.

A headache then for Buemi and Alguersuari, who remained in the middle of the timesheet in the morning but failed to get past Q1 during qualifying: they will start 16th and 17th on the grid, respectively.

Sébastien Buemi – 12th and 16th:

I had a good first run with the option tires but with the second set, I encountered traffic on my out-lap and couldn’t complete my flying lap. And on the final braking, I locked my rear wheels, so the lap was ruined. Even though we knew it would be difficult to get into Q2, I am disappointed with my performance. Finding the right compromise for the setup is challenging here between having low downforce for the fast sections and enough for the slower parts. For the race, we have to closely look at our tire strategy because both types work well here.

Jaime Alguersuari – 15th and 17th:

It was still just as difficult to get into Q2. We lacked straight-line speed in sectors 1 and 3, but I posted a good time in sector 2. The main thing for me is to see that I am making progress: in Hungary, I was last on the grid, in Valencia 19th, and today 17th, so it’s getting better. With luck, I can keep working and make my way up to the pole one day! I still need to be more confident with the car and the tires in the fast corners.