Toro Rosso team principal Franz Tost has warned Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz not to push too hard and crash more often during their second seasons.

The Toro Rosso pair were hugely impressive in their debut seasons, with Verstappen scoring two fourth places on his way to 12th in the drivers' championship. Sainz also showed good potential, though was often hit by reliability issues during the year.

While both were learning quickly - Verstappen was only in his second year of single seater racing - Tost believes they already know how to take an F1 car to its limit and has warned his drivers against trying to push even harder this season.

"The second year could become more difficult if the drivers are not disciplined enough," Tost is quoted as saying by Motorsport.com. "That means if they think [they have] to come now for their second year and show people their real potential, then they will have difficulties because they will have crashes.

"Both drivers showed already last year a very high level and they cannot drive much faster. But what they can do, because of their experience, is to get more out of the car during qualifying and also in special conditions during the race.

"That does not directly come from driving the car at the limit because they were already at the limit."

Force India winter diary part five - Media head

Eric Silbermann: No news is no news

Key dates for the 2016 F1 season

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

Mekies: Verstappen won’t be swayed by Red Bull staff changes

Uncertainty has hovered over Red Bull in recent weeks, but team principal Laurent Mekies is…

1 hour ago

Cadillac reveals special all-American Miami GP livery

The spotlight in Miami won’t just be on the racing this week – it will…

3 hours ago

No advantage, just safety: FIA details new F1 start plan

Formula 1 is set to experiment with a new race start procedure during practice at…

4 hours ago

Mansell slams F1: ‘Totally false’ overtakes under fire

Formula 1’s 2026 regulations were meant to usher in a new era of closer racing…

5 hours ago

Lauda's maiden F1 win and Ferrari's 50th GP triumph

In this scene immortalized by legendary photographer Bernard Cahier, a jumping-jack Luca di Montezemolo flanked…

6 hours ago

No big leap expected: Honda temper Aston Martin Miami hopes

Honda F1 Trackside Manager Shintaro Orihara has warned that Aston Martin are unlikely to see…

7 hours ago