Austrian Franz Tost, team principal of Toro Rosso, said Jean-Eric Vergne needs a big result soon to validate the progress he has made this season.
In his third season of F1, Vergne had to face a new teammate, rookie Daniil Kvyat.
Tost admitted reliability problems with the Renault-powered STR9 had denied both Vergne and Kvyat of several opportunities to score big points.
However, Tost says Vergne must clinch a solid result soon.
"He made a lot of progress during the winter months so he is much more [mentally] stable this year," Tost told Autosport magazine.
"He is doing a good job. Unfortunately he has had a lot of reliability issues with his car, but from the driving point of view he is fast, skilled, and I just hope he gets a really good result.
"Monaco [where Vergne ran as high as sixth before an unsafe release and ignition problems] would have been the kick to give him self-confidence to score a lot of points, and then everything becomes much easier.
"You need the results because this is the confirmation. Otherwise it's just talk, philosophy,” Tost conluded.
With ongoing rumours about the possible arrival of Red Bull Junior drivers such as Carlos Sainz Jr or Max Verstappen at Toro Rosso next year, Vergne knows what to do next.
In his third season of F1, Vergne had to face a new teammate, rookie Daniil Kvyat.
Tost admitted reliability problems with the Renault-powered STR9 had denied both Vergne and Kvyat of several opportunities to score big points.
However, Tost says Vergne must clinch a solid result soon.
"He made a lot of progress during the winter months so he is much more [mentally] stable this year," Tost told Autosport magazine.
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| Jean-Eric Vergne, Toro Rosso STR9 (Photo: WRi2) |
"He is doing a good job. Unfortunately he has had a lot of reliability issues with his car, but from the driving point of view he is fast, skilled, and I just hope he gets a really good result.
"Monaco [where Vergne ran as high as sixth before an unsafe release and ignition problems] would have been the kick to give him self-confidence to score a lot of points, and then everything becomes much easier.
"You need the results because this is the confirmation. Otherwise it's just talk, philosophy,” Tost conluded.
With ongoing rumours about the possible arrival of Red Bull Junior drivers such as Carlos Sainz Jr or Max Verstappen at Toro Rosso next year, Vergne knows what to do next.