Race - Hungarian GP report: Toro Rosso Renault

Max Verstappen

“Unbelievable, a P4! What a great result, I have no words! I didn’t expect that at all after a bit of a bad start. However I managed to stay out of trouble and during my second stint everything was going well, I felt comfortable in the car and the guys behind me were not catching me up. When the race restarted after the Safety Car period there was a lot going on, with cars crashing in front of me… I also damaged my front-wing a bit and was given a drive-through penalty. So with a few laps to go I was asking my engineer in what position we were in, and when he said P4 I just couldn’t believe it! I’m very, very happy today. I’d like to thank the team, they are a great support and they deserve this result, I couldn’t have done it without them!”

Carlos Sainz

“A very frustrating way to end the weekend, what a pity! We could’ve finished in a really good position today if we hadn’t retired… We were running in P5 and doing a very good race, but then I ran out of power towards the end of the race and that was the end of that. This is now the third race in a row where we were running in the points and we are not able to finish, so I’m not happy with that, but at least today Max was able to score some good points which is great for the team. It’s unfortunate that due to some reliability troubles I couldn’t contribute to our points tally today, but I’m not concerned at all about my performance because I know that I was also up there. It’s upsetting and difficult to accept another retirement right now, but fortunately we now have the summer break to analyse what has happened, to reset, and come back stronger.”

Franz Tost (Team Principal)

“Budapest showed once again an exciting and very interesting race, which is good for Formula 1. Scuderia Toro Rosso managed to score the best result since years with Max’ fourth place in today’s race. He drove fantastically and showed a really good performance, managing the tyres well and keeping everything under control. Unfortunately, with Carlos we had a technical failure from our side – because of a broken hose clip - otherwise he could’ve also finished in the points. We have now closed the gap to our direct competitors and I think we are still in a position to achieve our goal, which is to finish the season in fifth position in the Constructors’ Championship. I’d like to congratulate Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel for today’s fantastic win, as well as the Red Bull drivers, especially Daniil Kvyat, as a P2 is his best result in his F1 career so far. It was nice to see that the first four to cross the line are present and past Toro Rosso drivers.”

Cedrik Staudohar (Renault Sport F1 track support leader)

"Max had an absolutely brilliant race today! Everything went smoothly with the car as far as the Power Unit is concerned. It was a shame that he was handed a penalty towards the end of the race, but in the end it was a great result for him and the team. Unfortunately Carlos was forced to retire his car after a technical issue which resulted in a loss of boost pressure. Obviously we’re delighted with Max’s result, but it is bittersweet because Carlos was on track to score a lot of points as well. However, it’s a great way to conclude this first part of the season."