Race - Japanese GP report: Toro Rosso Renault

Max Verstappen

“It was a great race! I think the start was good and I was able to overtake Nasr straight away in Sector 1, even though he got me back in the hairpin because I got a bit blocked and I didn’t want to take too many risks! That was a shame, because I then got stuck behind him for quite a lot of laps and lost some time with the other cars ahead… But after my first pit-stop I was able to push again until I got stuck behind Kvyat first, then Alonso. But I didn’t give up and in the end we were able to end up in front, which is very positive. To go from P17 to P9 at a track like this one is a good result and I’m happy to have scored points again, it was a very good day!”

Carlos Sainz

“It was a good race until the mistake in the pit entry and I even think it was being one of my best races so far this year. It was a good first stint on the Options and an even better one on the Primes, I was really flying, catching the cars in front. Then it got to the point that it was simply impossible to overtake the Lotus on track, so we decided to go for the undercut. The team told me to do the opposite to Maldonado, and it looked like he was going to pit so I was meant to stay out on track, but he suddenly continued on track and I was so aggressive on the turn into the pit entry that I hit the bollard and damaged my front wing. I therefore lost some time during the pit-stop and if it was already meant to be a final long stint, it became an even longer one behind Perez, who was slow in the corners but fast on the straights. I destroyed my tyres behind him and in the end it was all about making sure I brought the car back home. The team did a very good job and I’m sure that we would’ve finished higher than P10 if it hadn’t been for my mistake – a rookie error that I will learn from. All in all, I’m pleased with my first Japanese Grand Prix!”

Franz Tost (Team Principal)

“Taking into consideration that we started today’s race in tenth and seventeenth position, to finish with both cars in the points is quite a success for the team. We knew that Suzuka was going to be a tricky circuit for us, as it requires very high top speeds, therefore I must say that we’ve achieved the best possible result for us here. Both drivers did a fantastic job, especially Carlos in the first stint, when he overtook a couple of cars, showing a really good performance. For Max to go from P17 to P9 demonstrates how strong his race was. From a strategy point of view, I think we made the most out of it. In the end, It was a good race for us, finishing with both cars in the points for the second time in a row - the cars are reliable! We are now looking forward to Sochi, where I expect to be more competitive than here in Suzuka.”

Cedrik Staudohar (Renault Sport F1 track support leader)

“It was in the end a good race for us. On Max’s car in particular it was a good recovery after yesterday’s electrical issue. For the second race in a row both cars have finished the race in the points so we can be happy with the reliability and performance. Let’s keep pushing like this.”