Toro Rosso, Verstappen: “Day full of pitfalls and difficulties”

Despite some reliability problems suffered during the morning and the incessant rain that characterized this first day of work for the teams at Albert Park in Melbourne, Toro Rosso said it was quite satisfied with the behavior of Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz in the first two practice sessions of the season. After an FP1 slowed down by some problems with the power unit, the Spaniard managed to accumulate several kilometers during free practice 2, underlining how the STR11 performed well in the wet conditions of Albert Park. A different story however for Max Verstappen, who did very few laps during FP2.

Here are the words of Carlos Sainz: “The start of this weekend wasn't the easiest. This morning, during FP1, we didn't lap much due to some problems. Luckily, however, we didn't lose too much, because the track remained wet for most of the session anyway. The weather today was a bit unnerving, but at least in FP2 things went better from a reliability point of view. This afternoon we rode as much as we wanted, thus making up for some time lost in the morning. The car performed well in the wet and this gives me confidence in case there is rain tomorrow or Sunday. I feel fit."

Here are Max Verstappen's impressions: “Today was a bit of a difficult day: we didn't complete many laps, given that the weather conditions were constantly changing... when we were on the track with the slicks it started to rain and, vice versa, when we mounted the intermediates the asphalt started to dry. However, it was nice to be back in the car again and we hope to be able to spend more time on the track tomorrow."

Roberto Valenti