Toro Rosso, Sainz: “I think overall it was a good day”

The heavy rain that fell this morning on the Suzuka track did not slow down the program planned by Toro Rosso for this first day of competition valid for the Japanese Grand Prix.

Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen have in fact put together a good number of laps on the intermediate tyres, especially this morning during free practice 1. It is worth highlighting the Spaniard's best time in this morning's free practice, a sign that the STR10 adapts well to the conditions wet track.

No rain is forecast for the rest of the weekend and therefore the men of the Scuderia di Faenza will have to work hard during the night to prepare the cars in anticipation of free practice tomorrow morning (night in Italy).

Here are Carlos Sainz's statements: “I think overall it was a good day, with many positive aspects to take into consideration. Even though it rained all day and we couldn't do even one lap in dry conditions, I managed to memorize the track quickly and immediately had a good pace. Finishing in first position was a special feeling: the first time I finished a Formula 1 test session as leader. The track is fantastic, really very demanding, and even more so in the wet! I had a lot of fun out there today and I hope I can continue like that for the rest of the weekend."

Here are Max Verstappen's impressions: “It's a shame it rained the whole day, it would have been nice to be able to spend a little more time on the track. However, we were able to do some laps in the wet and the car worked well. I think we learned something and collected some useful data in case it rains during the race on Sunday. We know that we normally have good pace in the wet and it's always nice to drive in these conditions. Now I'm already thinking about tomorrow, hoping to be able to do some dry laps and have some more fun on a circuit as great as this!”.

Roberto Valenti
Twitter: @RobertoVal94