But all weekend we’ve talked about the weather and in the end, the clouds opened and rained on our parade.

But with French Seb finishing seventh and German Seb fifth, this is still an absolutely amazing result, confirming the fact the team and its drivers seem to be growing stronger with every passing race. In dry conditions, which characterised all but the final couple of laps of this 44 lap race around the majestic Spa track, Bourdais and Vettel were genuine front runners, the STR3 proving more than a match for some much bigger names in the sport.

French Seb made a great start to run a strong fifth for much of the event and German Seb recovered from a sluggish start to pick up a few places then ending up right behind Bourdais in the closing stages. While he got the better of French Seb, he was powerless to do anything against Heidfeld and Alonso who both gambled on an extra pit stop in the closing stages to fit rain tyres. The haul of six points takes us into another level in the championship, jumping past Honda and equal on points with Williams, who still head us in the classification as they have some higher placed finishes.

To say the team is in a good mood would be an understatement and everyone in the race team and back at the factory is delighted we only have to wait five days to be back on track for first practice for our home race in Monza, the Italian Grand Prix.

Sebastian Vettel (STR3-03)
Pos. 5th
“Both me and Seb have good reason to smile after a race like that. The last lap was unbelievable and I was shocked as I got passed in the last fifty metres and then Heidfeld followed by Alonso drove past me with a “whoosh” on their intermediates. It was very tricky at the end and you really had to trust your car. We were all saying that Eau Rouge and Blanchimont are now flat, but with a few drops of rain, I tell you, you see the real nature of these corners. Overall it was a fantastic race, even though I was stuck in traffic for a while. But I was very happy with the car and we had a very strong pace today. The guys at the front are still in a different dimension, but we have made some good steps forward and now it is up to us to use that potential at the next few races.”

Sébastien Bourdais (STR3-04)
Pos. 7th
“On the last lap it was a lottery with the car getting away from you with every turn of the wheel. It’s a horrible situation, as everything had been under control up until then. But I am not in a situation where I can risk everything and at the end of the race I didn’t even know where I finished. It was so close to being a great result I felt I could almost touch it and so it was a very frustrating way to finish what was a great weekend up to that point. Such a shame, but nevertheless a very strong result for the team.”

Franz Tost: “I am really very happy with this result and now we head for our home race in Monza, hoping to carry the momentum with us. It’s also the home race for our engine supplier and I expect the Prancing Horse to be on very good form next weekend. A very good start and a very good race from Bourdais until he was unlucky on the last lap, as the rain came a bit too early for him. But that’s the game at Spa. It was definitely his best race for Toro Rosso and I am very happy for him. Vettel struggled a bit at the start, but then he too drove a fantastic race, passing Glock and Piquet with some good moves. At the end, he also passed his team-mate. In the closing stages we thought about bringing them in for intermediates but by then it was too late to make that call. But in the dry, in straightforward conditions, it was undoubtedly our best performance. We have moved ahead of Honda and are now on equal points with Williams and I hope we can score more points in the remaining five races. Fantastic!”