Sebastien Buemi says 12th was the best Toro Rosso were capable of in Singapore.
| Sebastien Buemi | Jaime Alguersuari | |
| Qualifying position | 14 | 16 |
| Qualifying time comparison (Q2) | 1’48.634 (-1.228) | 1’49.862 |
| Race position | 12 | 21 |
| Laps | 60/61 | 56/61 |
| Pit stops | 3 | 2 |
Toro Rosso drivers’ lap times throughout the race (in seconds):
| 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 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 | 50 | 51 | 52 | 53 | 54 | 55 | 56 | 57 | 58 | 59 | 60 | 61 | |
| Sebastien Buemi | 130.738 | 119.915 | 118.804 | 119.371 | 118.305 | 118.804 | 119.38 | 118.529 | 119.045 | 120.257 | 128.983 | 140.361 | 116.533 | 117.385 | 117.223 | 118.298 | 119.015 | 117.232 | 116.922 | 118.286 | 117.191 | 117.915 | 117.436 | 117.145 | 117.139 | 117.101 | 119.485 | 118.268 | 140.27 | 142.557 | 129.715 | 138.894 | 116.205 | 115.489 | 116.61 | 116.481 | 117.662 | 116.122 | 115.512 | 114.814 | 114.854 | 114.677 | 115.426 | 114.879 | 116.128 | 115.406 | 115.715 | 116.069 | 123.459 | 135.827 | 112.197 | 113.179 | 112.41 | 113.199 | 113.303 | 113.405 | 115.723 | 117.584 | 115.446 | 115.658 | |
| Jaime Alguersuari | 133.094 | 120.696 | 119.62 | 119.616 | 119.254 | 119.302 | 119.263 | 119.237 | 118.936 | 119.908 | 120.452 | 122.948 | 121.129 | 121.165 | 121.568 | 121.769 | 129.761 | 141.142 | 119.448 | 116.351 | 116.014 | 116.152 | 116.195 | 123.611 | 132.9 | 116.387 | 116.397 | 123.271 | 144.428 | 124.008 | 166.786 | 160.517 | 121.622 | 118.512 | 128.484 | 137.306 | 113.676 | 114.6 | 115.485 | 114.832 | 115.881 | 115.63 | 117.466 | 115.587 | 116.832 | 116.018 | 116.054 | 117.865 | 116.257 | 118.857 | 116.586 | 117.04 | 119.156 | 120.123 | 121.884 | 120.568 |
Sebastien Buemi
| Start tyre | Super soft |
| Pit stop 1 | Soft 32.827s |
| Pit stop 2 | Soft 31.394s |
| Pit stop 3 | Super soft 32.739s |
Buemi had a bad start to the weekend after crashing at turn 21 on Friday: “When I switched to the super soft [tyres], I was doing a hot lap when I made a small mistake exiting the last chicane and I touched the wall.”
He fell to 15th behind Bruno Senna at the start, and was running behind the Williams drivers after his first pit stop.
He made his second stop during the safety car period, but couldn’t make it to the end of the race without a further stop. That dropped him to 13th, though he passed Rubens Barrichello before the chequered flag.
“I think 12th was pretty much the maximum I could have hoped for today,” was Buemi’s verdict after the race.
“I would say we did not have enough downforce, reflected in the fact we had a very good top speed down the straights, but were not fast enough through the corners. But of course, it is always easy to say these things and be wise in hindsight.”
Sebastien Buemi 2011 form guide
Jaime Alguersuari
| Start tyre | Soft |
| Pit stop 1 | Soft 30.948s |
| Pit stop 2 | Super soft 31.836s |
Alguersuari’s running on Friday was also cut short, as chief engineer Laurent Mekies explained: “our data showed us that he had hit a couple of kerbs very hard and, as a precaution, we brought him in early to check over the car.”
He gambled on starting on soft tyres, but fell to 18th at the start. He spent a frustrating stint behind Jarno Trulli’s Lotus.
Alguersuari held on until lap 17 before pitting, whereupon he came out behind Trulli’s Lotus again. He hit the Lotus, inflicting a puncture on Trulli’s car, in a moment not seen in the television broadcast.
The stewards felt it merited a drive-though penalty, though Alguersuari objected: “I am not really sure why I got it, as I only made very light contact with Trulli.”
He had just been passed by Kamui Kobayashi when he crashed out at turn 18 with five laps to go.
Jaime Alguersuari 2011 form guide
2011 Singapore Grand Prix
Image © Red Bull/Getty images
bosyber (@bosyber)
26th September 2011, 12:53
Torro Rosso have made a step this year, but not as much as they seemed to have done a few races ago. Yes, in the races, they are now fighting Sauber (well, even Renault here, but I’ll await Keith’s post on them for that :), but that’s because Sauber has slipped a bit in recent races, and Williams are behind only because they themselves have slipped.
Still, I suppose not slipping further behind is a step forward for the team. I hope they can keep stepping up their game. At least their sponsor situation seems healthier.
I guess that the penalty for Alguesuari shows a consistency with the penalty Hamilton got: both clipped a car in front, causing a puncture. I am not sure it is consistent with earlier decisions, but it seems clear enough a rule to learn if it will be kept to from now on.
Mr draw
26th September 2011, 14:21
Despite his good form in the summer, Alguersuari was humiliated this weekend by Bümi.
Marco_ferrari
26th September 2011, 16:56
How easy…:) You probably don t know about the teams mistake with the suspension setup configuration? Later on Friday they decided to go a risky way and it led to increasing tyre degradation… The car was sliding all the way almost in a rally style and it was horrible to watch… Alguersuari said that in Suzuka the team will return to previous suspension setups, which were successfull… A weekend to forget, but not just because of a mistake of Alguersuari, but also a mistake from the team…
Mr draw
26th September 2011, 19:58
I didn’t know that. I did expect Alguersuari to regain several positions after having sacrificed his qualifying, but his race was even worse. Good to know there was an explanation for such a substandard performance.
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
27th September 2011, 7:51
Interesting. Do you have an article we could take a look at?
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
27th September 2011, 7:53
Not a bad result for Buemi but I guess Alguersuari’s drive-through ruined his race.
Fixy (@)
30th September 2011, 18:54
There was no room for STR in the top 10 but Buemi drove well.