Toro Rosso: Race over in six laps after crashes

2011 Belgian GP team review

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Both Toro Rosso drivers blamed rival for crashing into them at Spa.

Sebastien Buemi Jaime Alguersuari
Qualifying position 11 6
Qualifying time comparison (Q2) 2’04.692 (+0.131) 2’04.561
Race position
Laps 6/44 0/44
Pit stops 0

Toro Rosso drivers’ lap times throughout the race (in seconds):

https://www.racefans.net/charts/2011drivercolours.csv

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44
Sebastien Buemi 123.152 117.702 117.301 116.79 125.316 122.972
Jaime Alguersuari

Sebastien Buemi

Buemi didn’t make the cut for Q3 running a very different set-up to his team mate.

He dodged the mayhem at the first corner and was up to sixth by the second lap. But on lap five he was hit by Sergio Perez.

Buemi said: “Perez tried to pass me and simply drove into the back of me, which completed destroyed my rear wing and I had no option but to bring the car back to the pits to retire.

“I really can’t understand what he was doing, as I was clearly ahead of him: it was as though he forgot to brake.”

Sebastien Buemi 2011 form guide

Jaime Alguersuari, Toro Rosso, Spa-Francorchamps, 2011

Jaime Alguersuari

Alguersuari was very pleased with sixth on the grid: “This was my best ever performance and the best for the team this year.

“I think I have to be very happy with this and also because my team-mate came very close to Q3, which shows we have done a good job, not just on the car but in the way we managed the session, being the first out of the pits to get a clear track.”

But his race was ruined at the first corner when he was hit by Bruno Senna.

Afterwards Alguersuari said “I don’t want to speak badly about any other driver as it’s not my style, but I think the situation was quite clear to everyone.

“Going into the hairpin after the start, I was in the middle with Senna on my inside and Fernando on my outside and Senna completely missed his braking point and hit me which pushed me into the path of the Ferrari.”

Jaime Alguersuari 2011 form guide

2011 Belgian Grand Prix

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    15 comments on “Toro Rosso: Race over in six laps after crashes”

    1. What a dissapointment! :( I was so angry after the Senna collision… Spa is Jaime s best circuit pacewise, but still something bad happens like last year, when he lost the 10th place after race…:( Positive is that he seems to be back also in qualifying… I am bit sceptical about Monza and looking forward much more to Singapore… Hopefully the luck will come back, again…

    2. Such a shame they both retired, it was looking incredibly good with Jaime’s qualy and Buemi’s start. It still shows they’ve improved quite a lot and hopefully they can get some points in Monza (or a repeat of 2008 result, that wouldn’t be too bad either!)

      1. The commentator said, while Jaime was momentarily 4th in qualifying, that that was going to be STR’s best performance if it lasted, completely forgetting about Monza ’08. Still it was very good, and although a top 5 finish was unlikely both could have been in the points, ahead of Massa.

        1. LOL, it really is such a long time ago in F1 terms isn’t it!

          A shame yesterday just somehow was not given for STR to do anything but got hit.

    3. What a pity for Jaime and also for Buemi.

    4. Both Toro Rosso drivers are extremely underrated. It would be a great shame to see either of them out of F1 at the end of the year.

      1. So true!

    5. I was looking forward to see what Alguersuari and Senna could do in the race after such promising qualifying. What a shame that Senna made the mistake into the first corner. It was a bit silly, but as he said, he reacted too slowly and couldn’t slow the car quickly enough.

      If I were Jaime I would be furious! He is definitely on the up though – of the two Toro Rosso drivers, I would definitely keep him if one needs to be dropped.

      1. It’s difficult because one weekend Jaime is on the up and the next Buemi is impressive! Argh! -.-

      2. I agree, Alguersuari seems to have just that bit more of getting there (after the first 4 races each year).

        Really a shame we did not get to see what they might have been up to in the race.

    6. was not happy torro rosso were due for a very good race..

    7. Gutted for the both of them, double points would’ve been great motivation coming into the final phase of the season.

    8. Both of them showed great promise in this race,shame that they ended by someone else.

    9. Did anyone else see Seb go though eau rouge with a collapsed wing!!! he nearly past the guy ahead too!

      i was cringing i thought he was going to go flying off lke JV did years ago.

    10. I’d like to think Alguersuari’s race will be one of those we look back it in the future and think what could have been, kind of like Vettel/Alonso/Button at Monaco but I just don’t think he or the car are there yet. However, having said that, starting 6th is better than starting 7th.

      Hope this isn’t a one off for him.

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