Carlos Sainz admits Toro Rosso need to keep finding more performance if they are to stay in the thick of the midfield.
Sainz ended both practice sessions in and around the top 10 positions.
Four teams in Force India, McLaren, Williams and Toro Rosso look very close going into tomorrow’s qualifying session and Sainz believes STR need to find more performance.
“It was good to drive here for the first time with an F1 car – it was obviously quite challenging, but I enjoyed it,” commented Sainz.
“The conditions out there today were tricky, especially with the wind that picked up during this afternoon’s FP2 and there was also a bit less grip on the track.”
Williams traditionally hide their pace during Friday practice and show a better turn of speed in qualifying. Sainz believes Toro Rosso need to show a similar turn of pace tomorrow.
The long straight in the second sector is costing both Sainz and teammate Daniil Kvyat bundles of time compared to their Mercedes-powered rivals.
“We don’t look too bad here, but we still need to keep finding time – I think the others could improve massively for tomorrow and we have to make sure we do the same,” said Sainz.
“It’s very competitive out there and the long straights don’t make it easy for us, but this doesn’t mean we won’t stop working on it! I’m feeling positive and I look forward to the rest of the weekend.”
