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2013 crucial for Toro Rosso pair

ESPNF1 Staff
February 16, 2012 « DAMS signs up Nasr for 2012 | HRT to skip second test »
Franz Tost expects the Toro Rosso drivers to deliver the "wow-effect" in their second season © Sutton Images
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Toro Rosso team principal Franz Tost says that Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne will need to display the "wow-effect" during their second seasons with the team.

Both drivers were brought in over the winter in place of Jamie Alguersuari and Sebastien Buemi, who had three years at Toro Rosso. Having said that neither Alguersuari nor Buemi displayed the potential to be "winners" for Red Bull, Tost told the official Formula One website that he didn't know which driver was more likely to impress this year but that progression would be crucial.

"Both have done extremely well in all the series they've raced in before entering Formula One and, yes, they showed potential at the test," Tost said. "Daniel, with 11 Formula One races under his belt and frequent Friday drives with us, has an advantage. But in general I would say that this wow-effect is not so easily manageable in a first season. But it definitely has to be delivered in the second season.

"What I do expect from both is that they deliver solid performances. This means that they have to improve. I don't necessarily mean that they must score points… unless we've built a winning car! My guess is that the first four flyaway races will be difficult as neither knows the tracks, but once we come to Europe I expect them to do significantly better."

Tost added that he was willing for the drivers to make mistakes during the year, but that whoever irons out the errors more quickly will have the best chance of being successful.

"I don't have a problem when a driver has a good race and at the next race he has a shunt - that's part of the game. Both drivers will have a 'crash period' but that is part of their development phase. It was the same with Sebastian Vettel. But at some point they have to get their game together - and the question is who will be better at doing that? Let's wait and see."

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