Formula One news

Double retirement for Toro Rosso

Toro Rosso drivers Scott Speed and Vitantonio Liuzzi were left disappointed after their double retirement, having shown glimpses of promising pace over the weekend. Liuzzi retired on the opening corner when Anthony Davidson drove straight into the back of him, spinning him round and thus collecting the Super Aguri driver as he went past. Speed lasted much longer but was advised to yield 15 laps from the end with a suspect gearbox problem. 

Speed said: "After the start I had a lot of graining on my front tyres because I think our front wing setting was not the best. This made the first fifteen laps very difficult, after which it improved until it was not too bad. I had no warning about the failure. I just had to stop and I guess it was the gearbox. Now, let's think about Silverstone, where we had quite a positive test. Maybe we can squeeze a bit more performance out of the car for the next race and try and fight nearer the middle of the pack." 

Vitantonio Liuzzi commented: "Once again, my race did not last very long. I felt someone hit me from behind, probably Davidson and that spun me around after which I think we collided again. It's a shame as we had a strategy, whether it rained or not, that could have paid off. Now all we can do is wait for Silverstone and hope that the definite improvement we have made with the car pays off. We deserve some points by now." 

Franz Tost, the team's principal, said: "A disappointing result for us. Tonio went out shortly after the start, having been hit from behind by Davidson. As for Scott, he was forced to pull over towards the end, with what we think is a gearbox problem. We will have to investigate the exact cause of the failure. In general, we have made a step forward, but so have all the others. Currently, I think we are about 1 to 1.5 seconds behind the quickest cars. We cannot be satisfied with today's result."

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