Toro Rosso STR1

Toro Rosso STR1

Category	Formula One
Constructor	Toro Rosso
Designer(s)	Mark Smith (Red Bull RB1) Gabriele Tredozi
Successor	STR2
Technical specifications
Chassis	Carbon-fibre monocoque
Suspension (front)	Cast titanium uprights, pushrods, carbon-fibre upper and lower wishbones
Suspension (rear)	As front
Engine	Cosworth TJ2006 3.0 L (183 cu in) V10 (90°) Normally aspirated (limited to 16,700/17,000 rpm)
Transmission	Red Bull seven-speed longitudinally-mounted sequential with hydraulic shift and clutch operation
Weight	605 kg (1,334 lb) including driver
Fuel	BP
Lubricants	Cosworth Performance Engineered Motor Oil SAE 0W-20
Tyres	Michelin
Competition history
Notable entrants	Scuderia Toro Rosso
Notable drivers	20. Vitantonio Liuzzi 21. Scott Speed
Debut	2006 Bahrain Grand Prix
Races Wins Poles F/Laps 18 0 0 0

The Scuderia Toro Rosso STR1 was the car with which the Scuderia Toro Rosso team competed in the 2006 Formula One season. It was driven by Vitantonio Liuzzi, who had started four Grands Prix for the sister Red Bull Racing team in 2005, and Scott Speed, a débutant who was the first American driver to compete in F1 since Michael Andretti in 1993. The STR1 was the first car from the Faenza-based team to use Michelin tyres since the Minardi PS02. The STR1 was also the first Toro Rosso F1 car to feature the mandatory 7-speed gearbox configuration.

2006 marked a new beginning, as Red Bull had bought the Minardi team which had competed in F1 for twenty years and renamed it using the Italian translation of their brand name. The new team inherited Minardi's technical team and its factory at Faenza only, as ex-owner Paul Stoddart kept Minardi's other property in Ledbury. A deal that allowed the team to run restricted V10 engines, instead of V8s, was also maintained despite the new ownership.

This allowed Toro Rosso to use an almost identical version of the previous year's Red Bull RB1 coupled with the same Cosworth engines, only power-restricted under the FIA's equivalency formula. Both the chassis-sharing and V10 engine usage remained controversial topics throughout the season, as the engine agreement was designed to benefit the poor Minardi team, not the much richer Red Bull company. However, this wore off as the season progressed, as fears over the car's potential performance advantage proved to be unfounded.

This was largely due to the year-old chassis, the torque advantage of the V10 being cancelled out by traction control, and the lack of engine development and tyre testing given to the team. However, the team were generally more competitive than Midland/Spyker and Super Aguri, and Liuzzi was able to score the team's only point at Indianapolis.

Liuzzi was generally the quicker of the drivers, although Speed improved as he gained experience. Despite both getting involved in several accidents and mistakes due to their inexperience, the STR duo both drew praise from part-team owner Gerhard Berger for their performances.

The team eventually finished ninth in the Constructors' Championship, with one point.

• 
  Vitantonio Liuzzi at the 2006 Canadian Grand Prix.
• 
  Scott Speed at the 2006 Canadian Grand Prix.

Complete Formula One results

(key) (results in bold indicate pole position)

Year	Team	Engine	Tyres	Drivers	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Points	WCC
2006	Scuderia Toro Rosso	Cosworth V10	M		BAH	MAL	AUS	SAN	EUR	ESP	MON	GBR	CAN	USA	FRA	GER	HUN	TUR	ITA	CHN	JPN	BRA	1	9th
				Vitantonio Liuzzi	11	11	Ret	14	Ret	15†	10	13	13	8	13	10	Ret	Ret	14	10	14	13
				Scott Speed	13	Ret	9	15	11	Ret	13	Ret	10	Ret	10	12	11	13	13	14	18†	11

^† Driver did not finish the Grand Prix, but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance.

References

• Henry, Alan (ed.) (2006). AUTOCOURSE 2006–2007. Crash Media Group. pp. 82–83. ISBN 1-905334-15-X. {{cite book}}: |first= has generic name (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)