The Toro Rosso drivers had different results than the Brazilian GP where Pierre Gasly scored 2ed and Daniil Kvyat 10th. Today, at the Abu Dhabi GP, the Frenchman finished P18 as his race was immediately ended on the first lap after his contact with both Racing point drivers in the first lap which caused him a very long pit-stop to change his nose.

 

Pierre Gasly: “I was really looking forward to the battle today. As Daniil was able to show, we had the pace and it could have been an exciting end to the season. Unfortunately, my race was over on the first lap when I got hit from behind and pushed into the car in front and my front wing broke. After the pit stop to replace it, I was one lap down and it is frustrating when you’re out there without being able to fight anyone, just hoping for a safety car. It’s a shame to end the last race of the season like this.”

 

And for the Russian, he finished P9 as he followed a strategy of the longest first stint of anyone, the best stint of my life as he described.

 

Daniil Kvyat: “Today was a nice way to finish the season. That first stint on the Base tyre was probably the best stint of my life, I pushed like there was no tomorrow! Every lap I was quicker than the cars around me and I had a great feeling with the car. It worked out exactly as we had planned it, our strategy was fantastic and we had a good setup for the race. Maybe we sacrificed Qualifying a bit yesterday but we managed to put everything together today. I felt I left something on the table in the last couple of races, so I wanted to close the season with a really good race, to finish the year the way I did is a great feeling.”

 

However, the Red Bull-owned Toro Rosso team will compete under the name of Alpha Tauri next season, Formula One’s governing body confirmed on Saturday.

 

The Italy-based team who finished sixth in the 2019 standings was listed on the 2020 provisional entry list as Scuderia Alpha Tauri Honda, with Alpha Tauri as the chassis name.