Toro Rosso team principal Franz Tost is pleased the Hungarian Grand Prix keeps the team on target to finish in the top five of the constructors' championship.

The aim to finish in the top five was made at the launch of Toro Rosso's car in Jerez this year, with the team looking to better its 6th place in 2008 - the year Sebastian Vettel won in Monza. Max Verstappen took fourth in the Hungarian Grand Prix to leave Toro Rosso seventh in the standings but now just nine points behind fifth-placed Force India.

“Budapest showed once again an exciting and very interesting race, which is good for Formula 1," Tost said. "Scuderia Toro Rosso managed to score the best result since years with Max’ fourth place. He drove fantastically and showed a really good performance, managing the tyres well and keeping everything under control.

"Unfortunately, with Carlos [Sainz] we had a technical failure from our side – because of a broken hose clip - otherwise he could’ve also finished in the points.

"We have now closed the gap to our direct competitors and I think we are still in a position to achieve our goal, which is to finish the season in fifth position in the Constructors’ Championship."

And Tost admits he took satisfaction from the podium in Budapest as Sebastian Vettel won from Red Bull pair Daniil Kvyat and Daniel Ricciardo.

"I’d like to congratulate Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel for [the] fantastic win, as well as the Red Bull drivers, especially Daniil Kvyat, as a P2 is his best result in his F1 career so far. It was nice to see that the first four to cross the line are present and past Toro Rosso drivers.”

Sainz left frustrated by strategy and reliability

Click here for F1i's driver ratings following the Hungarian Grand Prix

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.

Recent Posts

A late season Le Mans win for F1's all-rounders

Civil unrest in France in 1968 had forced the organizers of the 36th running of…

2 hours ago

Alonso commits to Aston Martin as 2027 line-up is confirmed

Fernando Alonso will remain with Aston Martin for the 2027 Formula 1 season, ending months…

3 hours ago

‘Full confidence’: Ferrari responds to Vasseur-Horner speculation

Ferrari has suddenly moved to shut down speculation surrounding Fred Vasseur’s future, insisting the Frenchman…

4 hours ago

Williams drivers positive on new package, but 'we need more'

Carlos Sainz believes Williams’ heavily revised FW48 has finally given the team something it has…

5 hours ago

Vasseur responds to Leclerc's fears with Ferrari upgrade promise

Ferrari is ready to answer Charles Leclerc’s growing concerns about the team’s development trajectory, with…

6 hours ago

Montoya defends Colapinto: ‘I admire people who try’

Former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya has offered Franco Colapinto a measure of redemption after…

8 hours ago