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Toro Rosso behind expectations because of update issues

Toro Rosso "behind expectations" because of update issues

13-08-2018 18:22
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Nicolás Quarles van Ufford

Toro Rosso team principal Franz Tost has admitted that the team hasn't met its goals yet, as the lack of impact of their major upgrades this season has left them "behind expectations."

The Faenza-based team currently man the ninth place in the constructors' championship, which basically means they're last in midfield. Sauber and Williams, the only two teams Toro Rosso have behind them, are not there yet to really compete with the other eight teams.

"We haven't achieved our goals with the upgrades, we expected more from it," Tost told Autosport.

"The midfield is very close, it's [covered by] hundredths of seconds.

"If you can't improve then it's difficult to defend the position, and currently we are behind our expectations.

"I hope for the second half of the season we can improve our performance.

"It's difficult, yes. Sauber, Haas made big steps forward, also thanks to their fantastic Ferrari power unit.

"Therefore it has become difficult for us to be within the first 10."

There was the highlight of Pierre Gasly finishing in P4 in Bahrain early in the year, but that was clearly a fluke and not a sign of things to come. However, the up and down performances of Toro Rosso even leave the team itself puzzled.

"There are still a couple of things we don't understand, why sometimes we perform a lot more than we expect and some other times we struggle a lot more than we think," Pierre Gasly added.

"Of course we know that there are tracks where we're going to perform a lot more.

"I think Spa and Monza will be quite tough for us, but Singapore is another one where we need to focus."