After impressing in practice, Sébastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari failed to make it past Q1 in a topsy-turvy qualifying session ahead of tomorrow’s Belgian Grand Prix, that saw the front row was unexpectedly locked out by the Italian duo of Giancarlo Fisichella of Force India and Jarno Trulli of Toyota.
In the final free practice session in the morning, both Scuderia Toro Rosso drivers had looked sharp and on the pace, Alguersuari taking 15th and Buemi rising to 12th as the team looked towards getting both drivers in the second qualifying session. In the end though, the first session left both disappointed with their own performances and that of their cars.
'It was always going to be tough getting to Q2; we were lacking speed on the main straight' - Jaime Alguersuari
“I had a good first run on the option tyre but with my second set I had a bit of traffic on my warm-up lap and I didn’t get my flying lap together,” said Buemi, who had to settle for 16th on the grid. “Then, at the final braking point, I locked up my rear wheels and so the lap was spoilt. Even though we knew it would be difficult to get through to Q2 I’m disappointed with my performance.
“Finding the right compromise on set-up is difficult here between running low downforce for the fast sections and having enough to deal with the slower parts.”
Alguersuari will line-up beside his team-mate in 17th but will be encouraged by running just eight hundredths of a second slower than Buemi.
“It was always going to be tough getting to Q2,” said the Spaniard. “We were lacking speed on the main straight in Sector 1 and Sector 3, but I did a good time in Sector 2.
“The main thing for me is that I’m making progress. In Hungary I was last on the grid, in Valencia I was 19th and today I’m 17th, so it’s getting better. Hopefully I can work my way up to pole some day!”
Toro pilots disappointed in Spa