Sebastien Buemi told the media that he’s ‘a bit disappointed’ with how the FIA World Endurance Championship has gone for the #8 Toyota crew.
Speaking the pre-race 8 Hours of Bahrain press conference, the Swiss driver said, “I have to say that we are a bit disappointed, obviously, with the overall result.”
“I guess we’ve been a bit unlucky, on a few occasions. We did win a race, but got a few penalties as well down the line.”
Buemi and his teammates in the #8 Toyota, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa, won the 6 Hours of Sao Paulo in July this year, the first race after WEC’s crown jewel, the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The trio dominated the race for Toyota, finishing over a minute ahead of their nearest rivals, the #6 Porsche 963 crew of Andre Lotterer, Kevin Estre, and Laurens Vanthoor.
However, since then, race-winning success hasn’t been as forthcoming. At the very next race, they finished out of the points after Buemi clashed with Estre, causing a puncture to the Toyota, losing time as he trundled back round to the pits.
To make matters worse, Buemi then got a 30 second stop-go penalty for causing the contact with Estre’s Porsche.
And at Fuji, Toyota’s home race and the most important event for the team after Le Mans, the #8 crew scored a single point after a race laden with difficulties and misfortune.
Buemi focusing on winning the manufacturers’ championship
So, the best Buemi can do now is work his immediate teammates, plus the sister #7 car, and attempt to win Toyota the WEC manufacturers’ title. The Japanese-German squad are currently 10 points adrift of Porsche, who’ll Toyota will have to beat on track if they are to retain their championship crown.
“So clearly we are here to help the team win the Constructor Championship,” said Buemi.
“We are 10 points behind Porsche. So clearly I think that’s that’s possible for us. It’s [Bahrain] usually a good track for our cars. So yeah, full focus on tyre management and try to extract the maximum from the car.”
Buemi, who lives in Bahrain, has a special affinity with this circuit. He’s won here four times, including his first WEC win in 2012, in the Toyota TS030 Hybrid.
“I’ve known this place since a long time,” said the 35-year-old — coincidentally his birthday on 31st October.
“I first came here maybe 20 years ago now. I think it’s a good track, quite good for Hypercars. We’ve had some good races here.
“I like running into the night. It’s always very hard on tyres, and it’s hard on drivers as well. So yeah it’s it’s a good challenge, and I like that very much.
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