Current AlphaTauri (formerly Toro Rosso)

Toro Rosso

FIA Entry: Scuderia Toro Rosso
Car 18: Sebastien Buemi
Car 19: Jamie Alguersuari
Engine: Ferrari V8
Team Principa:l Franz Tost
Technical Director: Giorgi Ascanelli
Race Engineer Car 18: Riccardo Adami
Race Engineer Car 19:Andrea Landi

Stats as of end 2010

First Entered 2006
Races Entered 90
Race Wins 1
Pole Positions 1
Fastest Laps 0
Driver World Championships 0
Constructor World Championships 0

The Beginning

Toro Rosso took over the Minardi entry in F1 in 2006. Minardi took part in 345 Grands Prix between 1985 and 2005 without a single win, podium, pole or fastest lap but were the starting point for double World Champion Fernando Alonso and race winners Mark Webber and Jarno Trulli.

Red Bull Takeover

At the end of 2005 current Minardi team owner Paul Stoddart sold the team to Red Bull to allow them to create a “Junior” team to bring new driver talent into F1. The Red Bull take over resulted in a change of name to Squadra Toro Rosso and then Scuderia Toro Rosso amidst much complaint from Minardi fans. For their first season in 2006 drivers Vitantonio Liuzzi and Scott Speed used the STR1 chassis, which was essentially the Red Bull RB1 car. These were fitted with rev and air flow limited 3.0 litre Ford engines to allow Toro Rosso to compete in the new 2.4 litre formula in place for 2006.

Liuzzi scored a point for the team at the US Grand Prix, a race where only 9 cars finished. The development of the new engines by the other teams put Toro Rosso in a very uncompetitive position and they tended to qualify toward the back of the grid and run in those positions in the race.

Ferrari Customer

With the senior Red Bull team moving to Renault power for 2007 Toro Rosso picked up their Ferrari engine contract. Speed and Liuzzi continued as drivers. The STR2 proved unreliable and both drivers made mistakes during the year leading to speculation that they would be replaced. Speed eventually lost his seat to BMW test driver, and Red Bull junior driver, Sebastien Vettel. In changeable weather at the Chinese Grand Prix Vettel bought his car home 4th with Liuzzi 6th.

For 2008 Vettel was joined by reigning Champ Car Series winner Sebastien Bourdais as Liuzzi moved to Force India. Bourdais finished 7th at the opening race of the season in Australia and Vettel then took 4th in Monaco. As the season progressed Vettel in particular was a regular points scorer and in wet qualifying at the Italian Grand Prix put his car on pole. The rain continued into race day and Vettel went on to win the race becoming the youngest ever Grand Prix victor. More points finishes for Vettel in the final races of the season put Toro Rosso 6th in the Constructors Championship and earned him a place in the Red Bull senior team for 2009.

Sebastien Buemi joined Bourdais for 2009 and after the highs of 2008 the team came back down to earth in ’09. Bourdais was dismissed mid season due to poor race results and Jaime Alguersuari took his seat for the remainder of the season. The drivers managed a few low points finished but the team dropped to 10th in the Constructors Championship.

Buemi and Alguersuari continued for 2010 and again picked up some minor points placing’s, helped by the revised points scoring system for the season. The team finished 9th in the Constructors Championship but were the lowest placed of the established F1 teams.

2011

Toro Rosso continue with the same driver line up in 2011 and, with the STR6 car and Ferrari engines, hope they can move further up the grid.

 

[Il_leone]

rufus_mcdufus RasputinLives I guess he has been granted his F1 superlicence then to get the nod

Sainz Jr must be gutted because he's been leading the coveted 3.5 Series title much more comfortably than any previous junior driver in the series and there was talk about him getting a drive

I feel he may get the unglamourous drive at Caterham if they still exist next season

Just to kick him further he beat Kyvat when they were teammates in 2011 in Formula Renault and went to do F3 whilst Dani was honing his skills doing another season in Formula Renault

Then when they were teammates in GP3 Dani improved vastly and thrashed Carlos

JEV - you have to say he has been unlucky because he failed to make the most of his opportunities at critical times against Daniel Ricciardo

 

[soccerman17]

Wow.

Can't decide who will feel more sick reading this news. JEV or Carlos Sainz JR.

I'm assuming the news had already been broken to them. But I have heard of stranger instances where people learn news about themselves from TV or online news.

 

[Il_leone]

They said JEV needed a good result which has not been helped by the car breaking down and frankly has just been kicked between the groin

 

[RasputinLives]

Well as they've had Carlos Sainz Jr on the pit wall and in the garage at most Grand Prixs grooming him I'm pretty sure he's in a state of shock right now too.

Something went in behind the scenes there because that all changed very quickly in just a space of a few weeks.

 

[rufus_mcdufus]

I really can see JEV getting a drive elsewhere. He's pretty good, young still and has F1 experience.

 

[sushifiesta]

The only way I can see Vergne getting a seat elsewhere (apart from something at Caterham/Marussia perhaps) is if McLaren ditch one/both of their drivers, which would then potentially leave a free seat at Lotus/Force India.

 

[LifeW12]

Sucks for Vergne. He's probably gonna end up at Le Mans next year. Meanwhile Maldonado is taking a seat.

 

[Il_leone]

Vergne has not got much going for him... I doublt Renault will put pressure on Caterham to field a French driver as they will be using Red Bull equipment so Carlos Sainz jnr might be drafted into that team to make up for the shortfall in payment

Marussia will probably field another Ferrari driver if Bianchi is not staying and Vergne will need more money than Max can bring

Mclaren will not field Vergne .. they don't want two young blooded hard chargers given their situation

Sauber might be an option because it has to be better than Sutil given his age

----------------------------------------------------------------

RasputinLives apparently they did not want Mercedes to get him in their young driver programme and obviously Daddy Verstappen must have had some say about guaranteeing a seat in F1 which is not so clear cut at MErcedes

 

[The Artist.....]

You'd have thought that Jos Verstappen would have counselled his son not to come into F1 too early; after all, Verstappen's F1 career was basically destroyed by coming into F1 too early, being team-mate to Schumacher... After all, Verstappen's speed was clear - look at his performances in 1995 in the Simtek - he managed to drag that heap of s*** up to 14th on the grid in Argentina!

 

[Il_leone]

The Artist..... Well yes but every Dad want to fulfil their son's dreams right or is Jos trying to live his dreams through his son's? Do you also not think they considered how Lewis Hamilton 's route to F1 and want to be make sure that at first opporttunity Max will get a shot

Are we sure Max is definitely confirmed as a full time seat then? Then he must have had his super licence approved

Also it may not be inconceivable but Carlos Sainz Jr could still get a drive with the team by having to share the seat with Max.. like Liuzzi and Klein did in 2005

 

[Il_leone]

I stand corrected as I should say Max is doing an FIA approved F3 series and doing well so I don't think there will be issues with his superlicence

His appointment though questions the value of Gp2 further as it seems drivers outside GP2 are getting the drives into the F1

---

If Alex Lynn continues to do well - he might get into F1 for 2016 with Toro Rosso

 

[FB]

Back in the day the best drivers used to leapfrog from F3 to F1 not even touching F2. Prost, Brundle and Senna are three who spring to mind immediately.

 

[Il_leone]

FB

Mansell , Hakkinen and off course Button
------------------------------------------

F2 does not really mean much to be honest that was superceded by F3000 until that got devalued to the point no one elevated from F3000 and they turned into GP2 which was seen as the junior series to graduate from into F1 but then Renault 3.5 series seems to have developed to become a rival championship to elevate into F1


It seems like the real talents are currently sitting outside GP2 at the moment ( that might be a bad omen for Vandorn , Nasr, and Jolyon Palmer) The last two GP2 champions did not get into F1 although Leimer did 4 years of Gp2

and poor Sam Bird who finished runner's up last year and could not land a drive whereas someone like Ericsson managed to and probably not as talented

 

[Bill Boddy]

In an interview yesterday Jos said that if you were offered a place in F1 you have to grab it otherwise you may never get another chance. All the commentators agreed with that.

 

[soccerman17]

Well its true, a lot of deserving drivers never get the chance. The Lotterer and Verstappen same day announcements really show that you never know who will land a ride and you also never know how to land one.

 

[RasputinLives]

So Verstappen-gate appears to have spurred the Red Bull junior guys into making changes. Carlos Sainz Jr is very much in negotiations to take on the Caterham F1 seat as soon as Monza whilst Pierre Gasly as switch immediately from WSR to GP2 with the Caterham GP2 team.

Whether it is Red Bull sorting this out for them or just the pair both realising they have to do something to find another way into F1 I'm not really sure.

 

[siffert_fan]

Personally, I think Sainz is better than Verstappen. I think RB picked the wrong driver to advance.

 

[RasputinLives]

I think Gasly is probably better than him too currently as well.

 

[Il_leone]

RasputinLives Sainz at Caterham for the end of season but will the team be around next season then and how is that going to help his career if he has no drive possibly

Any chance Red Bull could make Caterham a 3rd Red Bull team - they will be using Red Bull parts and a Renault engine

 

[soccerman17]

That would be absolute overkill by Red Bull. Two teams is enough surely. Maybe put a driver in there like they did with Ricciardo though for the end of this season.