Team talk: Day three at the first test

Toro Rosso

Carlos Sainz (6th place, 1:26.239, 161 laps)
“A good day of testing. We managed to complete the full run plan that we had set for today and I’m very happy with that. We managed to be out on track most of the day, completing 161 laps and adding plenty of mileage to the team’s tally, which is what we came here to do. I’m feeling great. Obviously to do so many laps – over two race distances – after two months without driving is a lot for the body, but the good thing is that I managed to do them and that I am fit. All in all, a very productive day, the team is doing a great job and we just need to carry on like this.”

Phil Charles, chief engineer
“A quite satisfying day today; our primary target this week is to get mileage on our new car and really push the reliability up, so completing 161 laps today is an excellent result.  The other main positive from today is that since Carlos ran on Day 1, we are now quite happy on Day 3 to hear him say he has felt an improvement from then: Along with several new parts having arrived from the factory, a bit more running has helped us set the car a bit more around him. A happy driver is definitely a good thing! In terms of the program, we certainly ticked-off most of our requests, completing plenty of laps, doing some more cooling work, a couple of set-up items and in the afternoon we were lucky enough to complete our first race sim, which is really good to get under our belts early on. Overall a very good day and Carlos has jumped out of the car looking very fresh after 161 laps, so maybe we should target even more laps with him at T02!”