Zoom Vettel lost out to Alonso right at the flag but still a great result for the team

At the first sector on the final lap of the Belgian Grand Prix, Sebastien Bourdais and Sebastian Vettel ran third and fourth. However, with rain falling hard, the duo would lose ground over the lap to those that had pitted to take on wet weather tyres. Vettel took the chequered flag in fifth position with Bourdais coming home in seventh.

While the results could have been so much more, it was another impressive day from the Toro Rosso Ferrari team.

Sebastian Vettel
“Both me and Seb have good reason to smile after a race like that. The last lap was unbelievable and I was shocked as I got passed in the last fifty metres and then Heidfeld followed by Alonso drove past me with a “whoosh” on their intermediates. It was very tricky at the end and you really had to trust your car. We were all saying that Eau Rouge and Blanchimont are now flat, but with a few drops of rain, I tell you, you see the real nature of these corners. Overall it was a fantastic race, even though I was stuck in traffic for a while. But I was very happy with the car and we had a very strong pace today. The guys at the front are still in a different dimension, but we have made some good steps forward and now it is up to us to use that potential at the next few races.”

Sebastien Bourdais
“On the last lap it was a lottery with the car getting away from you with every turn of the wheel. It’s a horrible situation, as everything had been under control up until then. But I am not in a situation where I can risk everything and at the end of the race I didn’t even know where I finished. It was so close to being a great result I felt I could almost touch it and so it was a very frustrating way to finish what was a great weekend up to that point. Such a shame, but nevertheless a very strong result for the team.”

Franz Tost
“I am really very happy with this result and now we head for our home race in Monza, hoping to carry the momentum with us. It’s also the home race for our engine supplier and I expect the Prancing Horse to be on very good form next weekend. A very good start and a very good race from Bourdais until he was unlucky on the last lap, as the rain came a bit too early for him. But that’s the game at Spa. It was definitely his best race for Toro Rosso and I am very happy for him."

"Vettel struggled a bit at the start, but then he too drove a fantastic race, passing Glock and Piquet with some good moves. At the end, he also passed his team-mate. In the closing stages we thought about bringing them in for intermediates but by then it was too late to make that call. But in the dry, in straightforward conditions, it was undoubtedly our best performance. We have moved ahead of Honda and are now on equal points with Williams and I hope we can score more points in the remaining five races. Fantastic!”

E.A. © CAPSIS International