Vergne: On the pace and in the points

Having opened Toro Rosso’s account for 2013 with a point at the Malaysian Grand Prix, Jean-Eric Vergne looks back on a good job well done.

’I’ve had a few days to digest how we got on in Malaysia, which I think everyone needed as it was a pretty complicated race.

At the start I was blocked by everyone on the outside, so I had to take an inside line. At that point I decided to back it off. I knew I was going to lose a lot of positions but I just wanted to stay out of trouble. If I had held the position I would almost certainly have crashed.

It happens – sometimes you have good starts and you’re able to work your way up past people and into the optimum position for the first corner and other times you get boxed in by the pack, so you have nowhere to go. When that happens the most important thing is to be aware of what’s around you, back it off and stay safe and avoid a crash. If you’re still racing by the time you come out of Turn One then you can start to fight back. If you’re sitting at the side of the track with a broken car then the only fighting you’ll do is with yourself for making a mistake.

So, I lost a load of positions but I was still in the race and started to fight back, which was good. Then the track started to dry so everybody pitted for new slicks, which I also did.

Of course it was there that we had the unsafe release. It was pretty crazy in pit lane at that point because there were so many cars coming in, so I can understand why it happened. However, it cost me a lot of time – I think something like 20 or 30 seconds.

I thought the race was lost at that point. But I was out there and had a clear track in front of me, so I just decided to push like hell to see what I could get out of the car. I was on the hard compound and I felt I had a good pace, although the car had a lot of understeer, so it was difficult for me to keep the tyres alive.

Then I came in for another set of the prime hard tyres, got a better front flap adjustment and after that the car felt fantastic. I was flying and the pace we were able to achieve was pretty amazing. I was able to last a long time on that set of tyres at a consistent pace, and because I was on a three-stop strategy I was able to climb up the order pretty quickly. In the final stint, on the mediums, I just overtook all the guys ahead and finished 10th.

I have to admit that in the final stint I was a little bit worried about the stewards’ reaction to the unsafe release but I think they made the correct decision in the end. Sure it’s never nice to be punished, but for the kind of mistake we made, I think the penalty was fair. I worked pretty hard for that point so I was really happy to keep it.

Also it came at Sepang, which I have no problem in admitting is not my favourite track. I don’t get along with it very well and find it hard to establish a good rhythm there. Having said that I’ve scored points both times I’ve raced there now, so maybe I get along with it better than I think!

I’m having a bit of rest this week but afterwards it’s straight back to work with the team, preparing for China. We didn’t have a great time there last season – I qualified 18th, started from pit lane after we changed some things on the car and finished 16th – so this time I think we will go with a different approach and we must do better as a team… we will do better.

A lot of people were saying Malaysia, being the first purpose-built track of the year would give an indication of the pecking order but, honestly, with the rain and the heat and everything I still think it’s way too early to tell. If it’s warm in China we might get a clearer picture, but last year it was freezing cold, so who knows.

What I do think, though, is that the pace of the car is encouraging. I had the fourth fastest time in Malaysia. Yes, it was set on fresh options and light tanks but it’s the same for everyone at that stage, so the performance is definitely in the car. I think we don’t necessarily maximise the performance on Fridays or in qualifying, so that’s where the improvements need to come. However, the race pace is good and that’s encouraging as we go forwards.’