Jean-Éric Vergne’s Friday drive in Brazil could have been his last for Toro Rosso, as the Frenchman is tipped for a full-time Red Bull reserve position in 2012. The Formula Renault 3.5 runner-up, who also remains in the running for a Toro Rosso race drive ahead of next season, ended this morning’s first practice session in 15th position.
“I have enjoyed the brief time spent driving Friday mornings for Scuderia Toro Rosso,” he said. “The main purpose has been to give me as much F1 mileage as possible, while also working on the team’s normal free practice programme.
“The start of today’s session was quite tricky, on a track I didn’t know with a surface that was a bit dirty at first. The track itself is great fun to drive. I did my first run on the Medium tyres, then for the next two I used the experimental Hards that Pirelli brought here for us to try out.
“Myself and Jaime (Alguersuari) also worked on an aero programme. I ran with low downforce and I found it difficult as I clearly lacked grip, but that does not matter because it produced useful data for the team, which I hope will help them get a good result this weekend. I also want to thank them and Red Bull for giving me this opportunity.”
Series
Formula 1
Personalities
Jean-Eric Vergne
Teams
Scuderia Toro Rosso
Other
Get your official Formula 1 tickets at Sportstadium.com
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  L. Hamilton | McLaren | 01:13.392 | 35 |
| 2. | S. Vettel | Red Bull | 01:13.559 | 41 |
| 3. | M. Webber | Red Bull | 01:13.587 | 41 |
| 4. | F. Alonso | Ferrari | 01:13.598 | 35 |
| 5. | M. Schumacher | Mercedes | 01:13.723 | 38 |
| 6. | F. Massa | Ferrari | 01:13.750 | 39 |
| 7. | J. Button | McLaren | 01:13.787 | 36 |
| 8. | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | 01:13.872 | 42 |
| 9. | A. Sutil | Force India | 01:14.144 | 41 |
| 10. | P. di Resta | Force India | 01:14.807 | 48 |
| Full results | ||||
| Jean-Eric Vergne | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  |  |
| More Jean-Eric Vergne photos | |||
English
Nederlands
Español
Italiano
