The opinions are different in the Scuderia Toro Rosso camp as the Italian squad seeks an encore of its double points season opener this week in Malaysia.
At least one of the team’s drivers is happy to be there. Russian rookie Daniil Kvyat, who became the youngest points scorer in Formula One history on his debut, has special memories of the Sepang International Circuit.
“The second race of the season is also the first track that I have visited before,” he said in the team’s advance release. “I took my first ever single-seater win here for BMW in 2010 and actually this is also where I drove my very first single-seater race, so I have plenty of memories of this circuit. It’s going to seem very different this time, because there’s a huge step from Formula BMW to Formula One.”
Kvyat likes the circuit’s characteristics, and coupled with the fact he has a Grand Prix weekend now under his belt, he’s looking forward to the weekend.
“The track itself is quite interesting, while the heat and humidity make it unique in that respect,” he said. “I am sure I can be more confident this weekend, after experiencing my first race weekend in Melbourne combined with the fact I know the track.”
Teammate Jean-Eric Vergne has scored points in both his Malaysian GP appearances (eighth in 2012, 10th in 2013), the only track where he has such a streak in his career. But he doesn’t particularly like the circuit.
“It’s not one of my favorite tracks to be honest, as I don’t feel it has any particularly challenging characteristics,” he said. “The best thing about this race is its unpredictable nature, because of the weather: you can start on slicks and within a few laps, you need extreme wets because of a heavy storm and that can be fun for a driver.”
Toro Rosso’s eighth and ninth place results at Australia netted them six points already for the Constructor’s Championship, and they look to build on that this weekend.