F1 | Toro Rosso, Sainz: “It was definitely a positive Friday”

Seventh and tenth position for Carlos Sainz and Daniil Kvyat in the second free practice session valid for the Australian Grand Prix, the opening round of the 2017 Formula One World Championship. The Toro Rosso standard-bearers concentrated their work on the set-up of the ST13, looking for the best aerodynamic configuration in anticipation of Sunday's race. A very positive Friday where the Scuderia Faenza, despite a Renault power unit not yet at 100%, successfully completed the entire development program scheduled for today.

Here are the words of Carlos Sainz: “A positive way to start the first weekend of the season here in Australia. We were able to follow our program without experiencing any problems, which was the main goal for today. We continued our learning process from where we left off in testing, so it was definitely a positive Friday. This doesn't mean we can relax: as always, things will get a little more complicated on Saturday, but it's still a good start. Now we have to stay focused and look for the lap time. This new generation of cars is much faster than last year. I did the fastest lap of my life in Melbourne this afternoon and it's only my second practice session! We still have room for improvement, but it was already very exciting to drive our new STR12 again.”

Here are Daniil Kvyat's impressions: “It was a productive Friday. We completed many laps and tackled our schedule with ease. Everything is new: it's the first time for all of us with these cars, so everyone will try to progress during the night and we will do the same. There is always room for improvement and I am confident that we will take a step forward for tomorrow. It's great to be back on track for the first race weekend of the year - it feels like the first day of school!”

Roberto Valenti