Buemi: ‘Amazing effort’ to salvage double top six finish in Qatar

An off-track excursion and a spin for Brendon Hartley left the #8 GR010 Hybrid – winner of last season’s finale in Bahrain – an uncharacteristically lowly 17^th on the grid amongst the 18 high-calibre Hypercar contenders for the Qatar 1812km, ten places behind the sister car in seventh.

As the most successful marque in FIA WEC history, however, Toyota can never be discounted – and a combination of teamwork, consistency, hard driving and smart strategy hauled the pair of Japanese prototypes into contention, as the squad expertly exploited its experience at the highest level.

An hour-and-a-half into the ten-hour contest around Lusail International Circuit, Buemi had scythed his way from the back of the pack up to fifth, just ahead of team-mate Mike Conway in the sister car.

Notwithstanding a minor brush between the Swiss star and an LMGT3 Ferrari and a spin for the Brit, that upward trend continued once Hartley and Kamui Kobayashi took over behind the wheel, with the two GR010 Hybrids climbing to third and fourth, largely steering clear of drama as they ran in close company throughout.

Nyck De Vries and Ryō Hirakawa then picked up the mantle, with the Dutchman applying some pressure to eventual race-winner Miguel Molina midway through. While Toyota was ultimately unable to live with Ferrari’s blistering turn-of-speed, fifth and sixth at the chequered flag for the #8 and #7 cars nonetheless represented a very solid result indeed for the defending Manufacturers’ title-holder.

“It was an amazing effort from the team,” acknowledged four-time world champion Buemi. “There were virtually no mistakes, no penalties and a very good strategy. Everyone pushed really hard and I don’t think we could have managed more than fifth and sixth, so I’m very pleased. Our target at each race is to fight at the front; that wasn’t possible in Qatar, but we extracted the maximum out of our package and we will try to be stronger next time.”

“We had a well-executed race and I had a lot of fun out there,” echoed Hartley. “My second stint was just like qualifying laps every time. Getting both cars into the top six felt like an achievement after free practice. Even if we didn’t stand on the podium, I’m proud of the team effort. Obviously, we are not happy that we didn’t have the pace in the car, but hopefully we will be back up at the front at Imola.”

Twelve months ago in Italy, Kobayashi, de Vries and Conway claimed their sole win of the season. Toyota will return to the iconic Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari next weekend (18-20 April) sitting third in the Manufacturers’ table and fully focused on bolstering its title bid.

“I think overall, Qatar was a positive result for the team considering everything,” reflected de Vries. “We were aware of the challenge ahead of us because we struggled a bit all week, but through the race our package came alive a bit more. We stayed out of trouble and put ourselves in a good position. We wanted more, but given our expectations, it was a decent day.”

“Of course we always turn up to win, but sometimes it just isn’t on the table,” added Kobayashi, who similarly fulfils the role of TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Team Principal. “I’m very proud of our performance – we did our best and got the most out of the situation. The team was mega, and we managed to turn it around and be in the fight for a podium the entire race. Now, we need to learn from the experience and work together to come back in better shape for the next one.”