'Vettel will go on to be one of the greats'

New Delhi: Scuderia Toro Rosso boss Franz Tost was one of the first to notice the genius of Sebastian Vettel after the German driver won the the team's first and only race so far, the 2008 Italian GP. Vettel, who subsequently stepped up to Red Bull Racing in 2009, helped Toro Rosso win its first race even before Red Bull Racing could do so. In an exclusive interview, Tost speaks about Vettel' spell at the team as well as the team's performance this season so far.

What was your impression about Sebastian Vettel when he joined Toro Rosso? Did you immediately sense of his genius behind the wheels?

Yes, absolutely. Of course we had already seen what he could do as he was part of the Red Bull junior driver programme and had also been a "Friday Driver" for BMW. His intelligence and his willingness to work hard and learn combined with his raw talent are what make him special.

In terms of driving, which former legends does Vettel come closest to? (Schumacher, Senna, Prost)

All of these drivers were the best of their time and it's always difficult to compare because each one of these is a unique individual and therefore the only one he is like is Vettel! I am convinced he will go on to be one of the greats of his generation.

How much of an impact did Vettel leaving Toro Rosso have on the team in 2009? Would Vettel's presence have made a difference to the team's performance in the subsequent years?

A driver like Vettel always make a very positive contribution to the performance of team. Yes I'm sure it would have made a difference if he had stayed with us, because he would also be more experienced. However Toro Rosso’s role is to train young drivers, so it was neither unexpected nor a problem when he went to Red Bull Racing.

Can anyone fill in Vettel's shoes at Toro Rosso?

There is always another driver waiting for a chance.

Toro Rosso won a race even before Red Bull Racing managed to do so. Why has the gap between the two teams widened so much?

When we won in Monza in '08, Toro Rosso used a car that had been designed with all the resources of the Red Bull Technology group based in Milton Keynes. There were also a few exceptional circumstances in the way we ran the car in the wet conditions and there is no denying that Vettel is an exceptionally talented driver. All these circumstances came together to deliver the win. Since then, the rules changed and we had to design our entire car ourselves which involved building up an entire team of engineers and designers. We were effectively a new team again and this, combined with the fact that Vettel as I said is a special talent, makes the difference today.

How has the season gone so far? Are you satisfied with your current standing in the constructors' championship?

Satisfied? No, you can never be satisfied until you are the best, until you are winning. At the start of the season, I said we had to finish eighth in the Constructors' championship and that is where we are at the moment, so we can be satisfied in that sense.

The race in Korea must have been particularly encouraging...

Yes, because it came as the result of a lot of hard work at our wind tunnel in Bicester, England and in the factory in Faenza. The increase in performance, of which there had already been signs one week earlier in Suzuka, was down to our decision to continue developing the car and intensive work meant we brought new parts to these two races. In Japan, their first outing, we struggled and had some problems, but eventually we got on top of them in Korea and that led to our getting both our cars into the top ten, in 7th and 9th places, our best result of the year so far. It is therefore encouraging because, if we continue to work very hard, then maybe we can continue to close the gap to seventh placed Sauber, who are now just 3 points ahead of us. Of course, this also depends on what progress they might make in the remaining races.

Do you think with the given car, the performance of the team could have been better?

That is such a difficult question to answer, because performance is dependent on a mix of different factors, from the car, to the drivers to the way the team operates. I think our performance is roughly where it should be with the tools we have at our disposal.