Jerez: Vergne confident after testing

Jean-Eric Vergne was able to discover the new STR8 this week in Jerez with which he did not fail to place among the first with the seventh fastest time of the week (1'18"760) covering 177 laps at the wheel. After a 2012 season where Toro Rosso suffered from a lack of performance with the STR7, the Faenza team is seeking to rectify the situation, which would notably allow its drivers to showcase themselves to the management of the Red Bull Racing. “We made progress during these four days and we took a step forward in terms of our mechanical understanding of the car compared to last year, and particularly on the last day”, comments the Frenchman after the tests. “I’m more confident with the car than I was before testing. I had good feelings behind the wheel. One of the objectives of the design team was to give us greater margin in the adjustment options and I can already say that it has been successful. »

Franz Tost is confident about his team's potential this year. The Toro Rosso Team Principal is building on the promising debut of the new STR8 as well as the experience gained last year by its drivers. “We can be satisfied with these four days of testing. The car showed good potential and reliability was not bad, which meant that we were able to complete a significant number of laps with Daniel (Ricciardo) and Jean-Eric. Compared to last year's tests when they were rookies, both drivers now know what to do. However, they have to get used to working with the new engineers in the race and that was also part of the testing program. There is no point in talking about the car's performance at this time. The most important thing is to analyze everything that was done during the four days in Jerez and establish our list of priorities for Barcelona. »

Jerez test results:

1/ Felipe Massa? Ferrari ? 1'17"789? 227 rounds
2/ Kimi Räikkönen? Lotus? 1'18"148? 123 rounds
3/ Jules Bianchi? Force India? 1'18"175? 56 rounds
4/ Romain Grosjean ? Lotus? 1'18"218 ? 149 rounds
5/ Sebastian Vettel ? Red Bull ? 1’18”565? 198 rounds
6/ Esteban Gutiérrez? Sauber? 1'18"669? 252 rounds
7/ Jean-Eric Vergne? Toro Rosso? 1’18”760? 177 rounds
8/ Nico Rosberg? Mercedes ? 1'18"766? 162 rounds
9/ Jenson Button? McLaren ? 1'18"861? 120 rounds
10 / Lewis Hamilton ? Mercedes? 1'18"905? 160 rounds
11/ Sergio Pérez? McLaren? 1'18"944? 179 rounds
12/ Paul di Resta? Force India? 1’19”003? 240 rounds
13/ Daniel Ricciardo? Toro Rosso? 1’19”134? 153 rounds
14/ James Rossiter? Force India? 1'19"303 ? 61 rounds
15/ Mark Webber? Red Bull ? 1’19”338? 174 rounds
16 / Nico Hulkenberg ? Sauber? 1'19"502? 178 rounds
17 / Valtteri Bottas ? Williams ? 1'19"851? 178 rounds
18/ Pedro de la Rosa? Ferrari? 1’20”316? 51 rounds
19/ Pastor Maldonado? Williams? 1'20"864? 155 rounds
20/ Charles Pic? Caterham? 1'21"105? 166 rounds
21/ Luiz Razia? Marussia? 1’21”226? 113 rounds
22/ Max Chilton? Marussia? 1’21”269? 107 rounds
23/ Giedo van der Garde? Caterham? 1’21”311? 152 rounds