Franz Tost: “Renault will close the gap”

Following the renewed agreements between the fold Red Bull et Renault Sport for the supply of the Power Unit from this 2017 season, Toro Rosso returned to the fold of Losange after a one-year interlude in 2016 with Ferrari.

The French V6 turbo / hybrid, which had narrowed the gap against its rivals Mercedes and Ferrari, must still progress at the start of the year to see the two STR12s of Carlos Sainz and Daniil Kvyat regularly in the points, as in Australia for the opening of the championship.

“Renault has built a complete new engine for this season, and the pace shown is very good, explains Franz Tost, Team Principal of the Faenza team on the website of the F1.

Of course, with all these new things, you may have some teething problems. I am optimistic that Renault will largely close the gap this season and I am very optimistic for next year. Now it takes time to eliminate any teething problems, and mileage. »

Developments in Russia?

Like many teams, Toro Rosso took advantage of the Bahrain tests, in the wake of the last Grand Prix, to test several new elements on its STR12. Developments which are currently being evaluated by engineers in order to determine the introduction schedule, at a time when a particular test for Italian training is looming.

Daniil Kvyat will indeed appear this weekend in Sochi for his home race a year after his demotion from Red Bull Racing to Toro Rosso.

“We have tested some mechanical and aerodynamic parts on the car and we are studying the possibility of bringing them to Sochi, or a little later to Barcelona, says Tost. This is a decision engineers will make after seeing all the data. »