Formula One news

Knockout blow for Toro Rosso

Scuderia Toro Rosso was dealt a knock-out in the Bahrain Grand Prix today when both Tonio Liuzzi and Scott Speed both failed to finish the desert race.

"We had all sorts of problems today," said Liuzzi. "It was a hydraulics problem that put me out, but before that we had a radio problem, so when I overtook Ralf I was unaware it was a Safety Car period as I had no communication with the team. That meant I got a drive-through penalty. A shame, as I started out on hard tyres for a very short stint, gambling on the Safety Car coming out. As I think I was the only one starting on hards, it could have paid off for us very well." 

Scott Speed commented, "That was a short race! I got hit from behind at Turn 12 and I don't know who by. In any case the engine cut out while the car was still spinning so I couldn't do anything about it. Jenson thought he hit me, but actually I don't think we touched. Something like this is a shame, because we are still at a stage where we need to do as many miles as possible to develop the car, so stopping on lap 1 isn't really doing us any favours." 

Team boss Franz Tost added, "A disappointing Sunday afternoon with neither of our cars finishing. First came Scott's crash and then Tonio had to retire with hydraulic problems. A shame as the strategy change we made when we called Tonio in during the Safety Car period was a good decision and might have seen him finish at least close to the points positions. At least now we have a few weeks ahead of us before the next race, so we can use that time to sort out our problems and be better prepared for the race in Barcelona."

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