Jean-Eric Vergne needs a big result this season to confirm he’s made progress and to give him confidence in himself, that is the view of Toro Rosso team principal Franz Tost.
Vergne sits 13th in the standings with 11 points compared to rookie team-mate Daniil Kvyat in 15th with just six, but the Frenchman has spoken out about the reliability issues he’s suffered and reckons his points haul could be much larger.
Tost is fully aware of the problems, but believes one strong result before the end of the year would prove Vergne’s talent and progress.
“He made a lot of progress during the winter months so he is much more [mentally] stable this year,” Tost told Autosport. “He is doing a good job.
“Unfortunately he has had a lot of reliability issues with his car, but from the driving point of view he is fast, skilled, and I just hope he gets a really good result.
“Monaco [where Vergne was sixth before a pit stop problem] would have been the kick to give him self-confidence to score a lot of points, and then everything becomes much easier.
“You need the results because this is the confirmation. Otherwise it’s just talk, philosophy.”
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