Posts Tagged Toro Rosso

One of F1’s smallest teams, STR is the sister team of Red Bull Racing, using the same chassis but a different engine. Where RBR uses the same engine and KERS system as employed by Renault, STR uses Ferrari units. This made a big difference for STR in 2008, where it actually ended the constructor’s championship ahead of its big brother by one championship point. Also, STR scored its maiden win with Sebastian Vettel behind the wheel, at the rain-soaked Italian GP.

Just like RBR, the STR car’s chassis and body was designed by Adrian Newey. This means that the car has the same unique shape on its nose, with the sides of the nosecone extending upwards in order to clean up the air moving over the rear wing.

The team will be employing Sebastian Bourdais and Sebastian Buemi as drivers, after Sebastion Vettel moved to the parent RBR team (wow there’s a lot of Sebastions working for Red Bull). Bourdais has proven himself as a competent driver, although he still has to show his full potential, while this will be Buemi’s first season in F1.

Team principal Franz Tost is hopeful that the team will do well, while being realistic about their chances. He believes that the bigger teams will adapt faster to the new regulations, thus leaving the smaller teams at the back of the grid. However, an Adrian Newey designed chassis and Ferrari powertrain is nothing to be scoffed at, while the team has shown they are capable of pulling off a successful race week-end. 2009 will be a very interesting year for STR, especially with the team using the superior Ferrari powertrain, compared to the less capable Renault equivalent used by the parent team.