Sainz Jr and Verstappen start well in Melbourne

Toro Rosso got his season off to a good start in qualifying for the Australian GP, ​​even though his crew was made up of two rookies. Carlos Sainz Jr took eighth place in front of the Lotuses of Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado, while Max Verstappen ranked 12th in front, there Red Bull by Daniil Kvyat.

Carlos Sainz Jr could hardly hope to do better and is satisfied with this first result at the wheel of the STR10. “It was a nice ride. It was not perfect because there is still performance to be gained from the car and myself since I am a beginner. Unfortunately I lost power, and consequently a few tenths, at the exit of turn n°13… It was a very difficult objective to achieve for a first qualifying session in F1 and I'm happy to have reached Q3. »

Max Verstappen was a little more frustrated at having failed in Q2 even though the Dutchman will become the youngest driver in F1 history at the Australian GP. “Q2 was not perfect. I had trouble warming up the tires at first because of the traffic. I was 3 or 4 tenths ahead of my first time on my second attempt, but lost more due to oversteer in turn four. It's part of learning. »