The boss of another slightly more famous F1 team, also based in Italy, whose engines we just happen to use, has a favourite mantra about what it takes to win a race: “strategy, reliability, and the performance of the car, the team and the drivers.” He believes that all these elements have to come together to produce a great result.
Okay, Scuderia Toro Rosso did not win the Chinese Grand Prix, but it picked up a massive eight points courtesy of Sebastian Vettel’s fourth place and Tonio Liuzzi’s sixth. It propels the team from penultimate position in the Constructors’ table to seventh, just four points behind the mighty Toyota. And if we are successful in appealing against Tonio losing his point for eighth place in Japan, when our case isheard on Friday, then the gap could come down to just three. That would really make for a very serious final weekend of the season, in Brazil in a fortnight’s time.
Today’s result is in fact even more encouraging than the lottery that saw Sebastian possibly challenging for a podium finish in Fuji, because while that race was a real lottery because of the terrible conditions, here in Shanghai, our car had shown itself to be reasonably on the pace whatever the track conditions, producing a fine qualifying result on Saturday. Then, in very tricky conditions this afternoon, the team worked a near perfect strategy, especially in the case of Sebastian, who made the switch from rain to dry tyres at the perfect time and thus had the advantage of running a one stop race. A slippery and wet pit lane is not the ideal workplace, but here too our guys did a great job in the pit stops. To say we will all be heading off to Sao Paulo for the seventeenth and final race of the season in a confident and upbeat mood would be a major understatement. And no doubt, everyone is thinking that that part of Brazil at this time of year is often prone to storms and rain, which certainly would not do our chances any harm.
SEBASTIEN VETTEL: 4th
“P4! A Fantastic race. In the beginning it was quite difficult, starting in the mid field. For a couple of metres the visibility was okay and then you got all the spray. After the start, I used my momentum to go round the outside of several cars. Even though it was really slippery I took the risk. I kept pushing as hard as I could. After I passed Kovalainen I had a clear track ahead of me and was able to push harder. Just as I changed to dry tyres the rain came, but fortunately it went away quickly. I fought with Jenson, but when we realized he was on a two stopper, I didn’t worry. The last 20 laps were unbelievable and even though I had the situation under control and slowed the pace, it was tough. A fantastic day for the whole team, especially with Tonio in P6. Yesterday I wasn’t happy with my grid penalty but today I got my revenge on the track. Finish fourth is fantastic. When I left the factory in Italy, the guys said ‘Sebastian, you must bring back some points’ and I said I’d try. In Fuji we got close and today came this great result. Now I will celebrate with the team who did a great job in the pit stops and with the strategy.”
TONIO LIUZZI: 6th
“This was a great race from start to finish with everything going perfectly. I think Sebastian’s one-stop strategy was better but that does not matter now. It is fantastic for the team that we both scored points. I made no mistakes and had some great fights with Williams, Renault and BMW. I don’t think we could have done more than this. I am really happy for the team who really deserve these points. Many times this year, we have shown that we were capable of scoring points, but somehow we never got them. Now everyone can be happy and it shows that the team is growing and that all the guys are doing a great job. Now we can go to Brazil in a really positive frame of mind after showing what we can do, both here and in Fuji last week. We deserve this result.”
GERHARD BERGER:
“A very good result thanks to a fantastic effort from the team and both drivers. We have been working very very hard and sometimes this year we have been a bit unlucky. Today it all came together. This team works so hard. It is competitive and fights hard with limited resources, but still doing an outstanding job. The immediate future? To go to Sao Paulo and try and get more points.
