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.

 

[F1Brits_90]

Well, if Sainz does do one to Renault, the other option is Galael. I think Marko can recover from any Zinger now!

yes any chance he had might have just kicked the bargain bucket

 

[teabagyokel]

Galahad - Note to self: re-read a thread before posting material.

gethinceri - Your criticism is hereby forwarded to Galahad.

 

[FB]

Just posted in the Red Bull thread a rumour that Porsche could be interested to buy out Red Bull Racing for 2021 and the second part of the rumour is Honda to buy Toro Rosso and make them another works team. You watch Mercedes decide they no longer "need" to be involved in F1 at the end of 2020.

 

[Rutherford]

I hope those humble Japanese people have a much more pleasant time working with Toro Rosso. It'd be amusing, if they make a big jump in reliability and power and beat McLaren who have done all the R&D work for them.

 

[F1Brits_90]

Honda targets top three with Toro Rosso in 2018

Honda haven't learnt have they "Honda’s spirit is to come back and next year our goal is to fight for the top three at the top of the grid." i think this has alot to with detoration of the releationship with mclaren. because i said how many times have honda said we will have all problems sorted by a certain date 5/6 by my knowledge i remember when post Melbourne 2015 they were saying by Belgium we up to the level of renault & ferrari. i know alonso has gone overboard but i would probably be the same if time & time year after year again honda unfulfilled promises

instead of making stupid comments. i think they should start on reliability lets not forget McLaren knew they had to start taking grid pens at spanish gp before European season started. they had ran out of allocated components in 4 races

 

[sobriety]

Forget reliable, make the bloody thing the most powerful engine out there, and work on reliability afterwards, at least you've got a chance to overtake if you have to start from the back then...

 

[RasputinLives]

What's the point in that if you only last 8 laps?

 

[Bill Boddy]

It's called gathering data so that you discover just how bad the modifications were that you just fitted on the car.

 

[RasputinLives]

But they've been doing that for 3 years and everyone has been telling then how crap they are.

I'd go reliability first and then crank it up.

 

[Il_leone]

The problem with Honda is they can't accept their working practices just aint working and keep up the pace with the other engines

Having more teams to collect data helps and also having people with expertise as well and they happen to be mostly based in Europe instead of just using people from within your own cooperation who have been out of touch with F1

It is is better to go more power because then you focus on the reliability because the baseline is there to work, having reliability but no power is no point if you happen to miles slower than the field

The 3rd problem is the engine is still fuel thirsty which is ridiculous

 

[sobriety]

I'd go reliability first and then crank it up.

I was applying the old adage of 'it's easier to make a fast driver consistent, than make a consistent driver fast' to engines. Probably wrongly, but there you go

 

[teabagyokel]

Sainz now only twelve times as many points as Torpedo in the Championship. They'd be mad to let him go before Malaysia.

 

[gethinceri]

They'd be mad to not make Kvyatt clear his desk by close of business on Monday.

 

[Rutherford]

You know all the YouTube dash cam videos from Russia. Kvyat fits the stereotype and it seems he is trying to outclass his comrades by doing it in F1.

 

[teabagyokel]

Hartley/Gasly for Mexico!

And Kvyat got himself a point.

 

[Il_leone]

Kyvat has pretty much been sacked unless these two guys absolutely flounder which means Helmut will recall him again

 

[Galahad]

Chip Ganassi has signed Ed Jones to drive his second Indycar for 2018 alongside Scott Dixon.

This is important because Brendon Hartley was widely expected to take that drive and, it is believed, had already signed a contract. So this suggests BH has at least had a strong hint from Toro Rosso that they want him around next season.

My money's on that Ganassi running in Red Bull livery next year...

 

[Rutherford]

Chip Ganassi has signed Ed Jones to drive his second Indycar for 2018 alongside Scott Dixon.

This is important because Brendon Hartley was widely expected to take that drive and, it is believed, had already signed a contract. So this suggests BH has at least had a strong hint from Toro Rosso that they want him around next season.

My money's on that Ganassi running in Red Bull livery next year...

It was (unofficially) confirmed at the last GP that Hartley will be driving for Toro Rosso next season, as Kvyat had been released from his contract with Red Bull between Austin and Mexico City.

 

[F1Brits_90]

claws are out, almost making Honda & McLarens relationship look pleasant. as at least McLaren never accused Honda of being terrible on purpose

 

[Rutherford]

Renault is still behind Toro Rosso in the constructors championship...

Has anyone seen the scenes from SkyF1, Abtiboul and Marko had quite a quarrel.