Toro Rosso team principal Franz Tost believes that Max Verstappen's decision not to relinquish his position to team mate Carlos Sainz was the correct one.
In the closing stages of the Singapore Grand Prix, Toro Rosso had initially ordered Verstappen to surrender his 8th place to Carlos Sainz in order to provide an opportunity for the Spaniard, who at that point was running on fresher rubber, to mount an attack on 7th placed man Sergio Perez.
But to no avail as the order was greeted by a decisive 'No!" on the part of the Dutchman over the radio. While many thought the junior bull would come under fire by his team's management for not respecting team orders, Franz Tost now believes that in hindsight, Max was right to disobey.
"As Carlos was on newer tyres, we thought it was right to switch positions," Tost explained.
"But Carlos was too slow, he was too far behind. So Max was right because he saw that his team mate was not closing up, and therefore could not have caught Perez. It would not have made sense to have them switch positions, so we let them go."
The Toro Rosso boss also rued Verstappen's sudden engine problem on the grid, which most probably deprived the teenager with an even better overall finish.
"The engine should have absolutely not stopped because we have the anti-stall. So we must find out what happened, and there is no excuse there."
"Later on we were lucky with the timing of the Safety Car, and I must say that both Max and Carlos drove a fantastic race. We had a really good and competitive car, and in the end we scored some points, but it could all have been better."
REPORT: Vettel takes third win as Hamilton retires in Singapore
AS IT HAPPENED: 2015 Singapore Grand Prix
Click here for some of the most memorable crashes at Singapore
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