Toro Rosso left the British Grand Prix paddock yesterday with its tail up after both Daniil Kvyat and Jean-Eric Vergne managed to finish in the points at Silverstone.
The result marked the team’s first double points haul since the opening race of the year in Australia, and it followed another impressive qualifying display. Kvyat and Vergne finished where they started – ninth and tenth respectively – and although their races were by no means spectacular, the points were certainly most welcome.
“This was a very intense race, especially towards the end when I was pushing to catch Hulkenberg,” Kvyat explained, having finished less than a second behind the Force India driver at the flag. “I was actually quicker than him and I was definitely getting very close, but unfortunately I was not able to pass him in the end.
“Overall, I am quite happy with this race weekend and I very much enjoyed driving this track with its high speed corners. And after having had a few difficult races, it is great to see that all the hard work has paid off and that we were able to get both cars into the points.”
Team principal Franz Tost was also pleased with the result, saying: “We can be satisfied with today’s race, finishing with both cars in the points. I have to say both drivers did a really good job in defending positions and overtaking other cars.
“We planned different strategies, with Daniil two stops and Jev one stop and they paid off, as they saw the chequered flag in ninth and tenth position.
“The team showed a solid performance and it’s encouraging to see that we are working in the right direction. Now we are looking forward to the German Grand Prix, where we hope we’ll be able to make further steps.”
The result sees Toro Rosso pull further ahead of Lotus in the constructors’ championship in seventh place, which, given the 75 point gap to McLaren in sixth, will be the best that the Red Bull B team can hope for this year.
