STR10 a ‘big step’ over 2014 – Verstappen

2015 F1 Season

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Max Verstappen believes this year’s Toro Rosso is a marked improvement over the car he drove during Friday practice sessions last season.

Speaking after running almost 100 laps during the final day of testing at Jerez, Verstappen says the team achieved a lot over the course of the test.

“We did a lot with the car and it was very important for me to get used to the new car and I think we’ve made big steps forward,” he said.

“We can do a lot of laps and the Renault engine is performing well at the moment, so we can’t complain.”

However, Toro Rosso technical director James Key insists that the team have not yet shown their hand when it comes to the new car’s performance.

“Our focus has been entirely on reliability, while allowing the drivers to experience every aspect of the job,” said Key.

“We haven’t done any work on performance so far and we will not do that until the end of the month, therefore we are not looking at our lap times for now.

“The important topics are reliability, consistency and driver work, to tune the car to their requirements and give them as much preparation time as possible.”

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Will Wood
Will has been a RaceFans contributor since 2012 during which time he has covered F1 test sessions, launch events and interviewed drivers. He mainly...

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18 comments on “STR10 a ‘big step’ over 2014 – Verstappen”

  1. I’m Dutch and a Verstappen fan, but I’m afraid the car might be an improvement but not good enough compared to the rest. Now that Caterham is gone (Manor still in doubt) we have to realise SOMEONE has to run at the back of the pack.

    1. that’s what force indias are for.

    2. To be honest this might be the first season since 2009 where F1 is a 2-tier championship rather than 3-tier. I certainly expect all teams to score points this season.

      1. I’m kind of looking forward to it. I’d like Caterham and Marussia but if their not their then a ridiculously close grid with almost everyone susceptible to Q1 would be cool. I hope more teams join soon, but one year with no backmarkers is fine for me from an entertainment perspective.

    3. To be honest I still think that Sauber will be at the back, They are keeping their sponsors happy at the moment pushing during the first test, but I doubt that their car is quick enough.
      i think Torro Rosso will be on level par with Lotus and Force India, above that will be McLaren (Depending on the Honda engine ofcourse) and Williams. Top teams will be Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes.

  2. I think that Toro Rosso looks very good this year.
    McLaren Honda will be the back marker for a while.

  3. ColdFly F1 (@)
    4th February 2015, 20:55

    allowing the drivers to experience every aspect of the job

    I knew this was a work experience position!

  4. Really wondering whom of the two STR boys will score the most. My money is on Sainz being the more experienced of the two.

    1. Hmm, you might be right, but I expect Verstappen to have the highest finishing position of the two.

    2. I expect Verstappen to be the fastest of the two, but also to be error prone at the beginning. At the end of the season he will have more points though.

      But then again, I’m not objective. I really believe that Verstappen’s talent is very special and rare.

      1. As a fellow countryman that’s what we all hope, isn’t it?

        1. Yes, I’m Dutch and ‘therefore’ not objective. But I followed Verstappen since he was little and I really think he is something special. Of course that does not mean he will automatically succeed in F1.

          1. Ik denk ook dat Max het goed gaat doen.

      2. Precies, ik denk dat Max misschien soms wat te “optimistisch” zal zijn met zijn inhaalmanoeuvres en daardoor iets minder consequent in zijn uitslagen in vergelijking met Carlos. Maar uiteindelijk denk ik dat Max Carlos alle hoeken van de baan laat zien. :)

    3. Sainz is known for blowing hot and cold throughout a season, that’s part of the reason why he was initially overlooked to join Toro Rosso.

  5. Up untill now Verstappen has ben faster in all little “tests” like the cepsa karting event and now Jerez.
    My money is on Verstappen outscoring Sainz.

    1. It must have hurt Carlos that he couldn’t keep up with Max, not even a little bit, during the Cespa karting event. Too bad Max lost his 8 seconds (!!) lead after a mechanical failure.

      Also, when first mentioned for the second seat at TR Carlos was eager to say he wants to beat Max. In more recent interviews he really toned down his answers saying “TR expects us to preform at the same level”. Can’t help but think he now begins to get a grasp of what he’s up against.

  6. At the Jerez test I wondered why the Toro Rosso is that silent in 2015? Did you notice that too? What did Renault do??

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