Toro Rosso Team Principal Franz Tost says that rookie duo Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz Jr owe some of their success to the rightfully impressive STR10.
Even though Tost isn’t trying to take anything away from his two drivers, he’s right to point out just how big of a surprise their car has been this year.
Toro Rosso currently sits within striking distance of both Lotus and Force India in the constructor standings, though passing them by the end of the year would be a very difficult task.
Still, Sainz has looked great at times, whereas Verstappen could just be a star in the making, having already earned 26 points in his first Formula One season.
Tost thinks that his team wouldn’t have had “too many more points” if they had more experienced drivers behind the wheel – which is indeed a direct praise for his rookie drivers. He then adds that “we must not forget those drivers have an advantage of 70, 80 horsepower, or maybe more, so therefore you can say we are more than pleased and satisfied with his performance.”
As for the STR10, Tost added that “we have a very good car, a very good chassis, close to the top. The technical team around James Key has done a really good job. Yes both drivers are skilled, but they are still young, inexperienced, and if the car was not working so well and be easy to drive it would be much difficult for them.”
The fact that Toro Rosso (just like Red Bull) need more power from their Renault engine is not exactly breaking news. “We are currently suffering with top speed, while our biggest problem has been reliability,” said the team principal.
We do expect a few more strong results from them by the end of the year, and perhaps a one or two spectacular drives by Max Verstappen.
Story references: Autosport
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