Toro Rosso boss Franz Tost is sure the team’s performance in Bahrain was not a one-off, after Pierre Gasly put in a measured driver to take fourth position.
Gasly qualified in sixth place, which became fifth as a result of Lewis Hamilton’s penalty, and maintained the spot early on, moving to fourth when Daniel Ricciardo retired.
Gasly was overhauled by Hamilton, but gained fourth back when Kimi Raikkonen was forced out, and from there cruised clear of the midfield pack to collect 12 points for Toro Rosso.
It was Gasly’s first points in Formula 1, equalled Toro Rosso’s second-best result, and was the highest classification for a Honda-powered car since the manufacturer’s return in 2015.
While wary that Gasly’s final result had been assisted by three of the usual top six retiring, Tost nonetheless reckons Toro Rosso can carry its pace forward to other venues.
“We arrived in Bahrain with a new aero package and also Honda came with some modifications, and from the beginning onwards on Pierre’s car – where we fitted the upgrades – we saw that we improved the performance in comparison to Melbourne,” said Tost.
“Pierre defended his position and came back from the first lap in fourth, he then fought against [Kevin] Magnussen in a very good way and kept his position until the end of the race.
“I must say, that he controlled the speed by managing the tyres and the fuel in a very professional way.
“Generally speaking, we are very happy with this result. To finish in fourth position in the second race of the year is really a very positive sign from Honda and from the Toro Rosso side.
“I’m quite confident that we have what we need to keep this level of performance – maybe not finishing fourth all the time because we mustn’t forget that [Max] Verstappen and Ricciardo didn’t finish the race – but nevertheless I’m convinced that points are possible in all of the races.”
Brendon Hartley was relegated from 13th to 17th in the other Toro Rosso post-race as a result of a formation lap transgression with Sergio Perez, for which he received a 30-second time penalty.
Hartley was also issued with a 10-second sanction for subsequently colliding with Perez on the opening lap of the race.
Toro Rosso now holds sixth position in the Constructors’ Championship.
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