James Key: “Both drivers have done incredibly well”

Published on 04 March 2016 by Niels Hendrix

James Key, technical director of Scuderia Toro Rosso, says after the final test in Barcelona: “It’s been a positive final day after two intense and long weeks of testing. I think both drivers have done incredibly well with just four days each to run in the new car and prepare for the new season, they have covered a lot of work and laps in the process. They are both approaching their second season now and the difference that has made at this time of year is significant – we have been able to concentrate solely on understanding the car and both of them have given concise and accurate feedback.”

“As little as a few weeks ago it was not certain we would make testing in any meaningful way after our last minute change of power unit supply. We had our first technical meeting with Ferrari at the start of December, just a few months ago. The entire team has worked not only extremely hard but also with great commitment and belief to get us back on track with the minimum of compromises to the STR11 car design and in time for two full weeks of testing. On top of all that we have been able to run reliably from the outset and all the systems surrounding the power unit installation and the rest of the car, much of which is substantially different to its predecessor, have worked as (hastily) predicted. Now we move on and look forward to Melbourne and the start of the 2016 season.”