Toro Rosso is satisfied with Jerez tests

The first of the three pre-season test sessions came to an end in southern Spain today, with Jean-Eric Vergne completing his second day at the wheel of the STR8.

Scuderia Toro Rosso and the other ten Formula 1 teams will be back on track for a further four days of testing, this time at the Catalunya circuit, on the outskirts of Barcelona, starting on Tuesday 19 February.

Jean-Eric Vergne, Scuderia Toro Rosso STR8

Photo by: XPB Images

I am much more confident about the new car than I was before the test and it gives me a good feeling from behind the wheel. One of the aims of the design team was to give us drivers a car with a broader operating range in terms of set-up options and I can already say they have succeeded in that point. There is still a lot to do, so I’m looking forward to my next session in Barcelona.”

Franz Tost: “We can be satisfied with these first four days of testing. The car showed reasonable potential and reliability was not too bad, which meant we completed a respectable number of laps, first with Daniel and then with Jean-Eric.

In contrast to this test last year, when they were rookies, both of them knew what to do and what to expect. However, the two of them had to get used to working with new race engineers and that part of the test also progressed well.

There is absolutely no point in talking about car performance at this stage. The most important task we face now is to analyse everything we have done over the past four days in Jerez, so as to decide what our priorities will be in Barcelona in eleven days’ time, when we start the second test session.”

Jerez test - Day 4
Circuit: Jerez de la Frontera, 4.423 kms
Driver: Jean-Eric Vergne
Car: STR8 chassis number 01
Laps: 92
Best time: 1:18.760

Scuderia Toro Rosso