Scuderia Toro Rosso
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Scuderia Toro Rosso (Italian for Red Bull Stable) is a Formula One racing team owned in a 50/50 partnership between the drinks company Red Bull and former F1 driver Gerhard Berger, and which made its racing debut in the 2006 Formula One season. Scuderia Toro Rosso is the sister team of Red Bull Racing competing with the aim of developing the skills of promising drivers for their senior team.
Toro Rosso (abbreviated name) was set up by Red Bull with the purchase of the Minardi team in late 2005. For the 2007 season, Toro Rosso will be using Ferrari V8 engines, taking over the contract that their senior team broke from. The team principal is Franz Tost, formerly of BMW's motorsport division.
Origins
Minardi had competed in Formula One from 1985 to 2005 and although having a large fan base had latterly been one of the least competitive teams in the formula with a relatively restricted budget. Owner Paul Stoddart claimed to have had 41 approaches to buy the team, but preferred to sell it to someone who could 'take it further' than he could and who would maintain it in its traditional base in Italy.[1] Included in the terms of the deal with Red Bull was the clause that the team must keep its headquarters in Faenza, Italy until at least the 2007 season.
Whilst Red Bull have abandoned the Minardi name in line with their own sponsorship and marketing plans, the use of the Italian language in the name is intended to hint at the team's Italian heritage. Red Bull changed the name of the team immediately after taking control of the team on 1 November, 2005. It was initially reported as Squadra Toro Rosso then changed because squadra in Italian depicts a squad like a football team, to Scuderia Toro Rosso. Many Minardi fans were upset by this move, and over 15,000 signed an online petition to keep the Minardi name.
Racing history
2006 season
Vitantonio Liuzzi and Scott Speed were the 2006 race drivers, with Neel Jani filling the test/third driver role. Liuzzi had raced part time for Red Bull Racing in 2005. Speed entered F1 following the Red Bull Driver Search in the United States. Jani was the test driver for Sauber Petronas in 2004.
The 2006 chassis was a modified version of the 2005 Red Bull Racing RB1. Some teams felt that this infringed the Concorde Agreement as each team is expected to design their own car. Toro Rosso claim that this design was originally produced during 2004 by Jaguar Racing, Red Bull's predecessor, and that the intellectual rights had belonged to the Ford Motor Company, Jaguar Racing's parent company before passing to Toro Rosso.
The team used Minardi's contracted supply of rev limited and air restricted Cosworth 3.0l V10 engines. This concession had been granted to assist less well funded teams by avoiding the cost of sourcing a new supply of V8 engines as required by the 2006 regulations.[2] The continuation of this arrangement after the Red Bull takeover caused friction with other teams, in particular Super Aguri and Midland who felt that the engine conferred too much of an advantage. They contended that the concession to allow the team use a V10 engine was based on Minardi's poor financial situation, and should not have continued to apply after the team achieved a completely different financial footing.
As the season progressed, the Toro Rossos began to struggle in qualifying as their competitors developed their new V8 engines to rev closer to 20,000 rpm to get more power. To try and balance the playing field Toro Rosso asked for an extra 500 revs for qualifying, however the FIA permitted them 300 revs only.
2007 season
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For the 2007 season, Toro Rosso began using the Ferrari 056 V8 engine, taking over the contract that their senior team broke from.
At the launch of the STR2 on 13 February, Gerhard Berger confirmed Liuzzi would again drive for the team in 2007.[3] In testing in Bahrain on 24 February, Scott Speed was confirmed as the team's second driver again. Test drivers are yet to be confirmed for the 2007 season, though Champ Car 3-time Champion has acted as unofficial test driver three times so far this season.
The team announced their new technical director Giorgio Ascanelli, replacing temporary stand-in Alex Hitzinger on 2 April.[4]
However, 2007 has so far proved to be disappointing, with poor reliability and driver errors leading to a low finishing record. Following the 2007 European Grand Prix, Speed was dropped under controversial circumstances and he was replaced by BMW Sauber development driver Sebastian Vettel. Vettel has since been confirmed for 2008.[5]
On August 10, 2007 it was announced that current Champ Car champion Sebastien Bourdais will partner Vettel at Toro Rosso in 2008.[6], replacing Liuzzi.
Sponsorship
Sports sponsorship is a major part of Red Bull's innovative marketing strategy, and Scuderia Toro Rosso is not the first sports team to be bought and completely re-branded: it has done the same for Red Bull Racing (formerly Jaguar Racing), the Austrian football club Red Bull Salzburg (formerly SV Austria Salzburg), and MLS' Red Bull New York (previously Metrostars).
Complete Formula One results
(key) (results in bold indicate pole position)
| Year | Chassis | Engine | Tyres | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Points | WCC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | STR1 | Cosworth V10 | M | BHR | MAL | AUS | SMR | 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 | ||||||
| 2007 | STR2 | Ferrari V8 | B | AUS | MAL | BHR | ESP | MON | CAN | USA | FRA | GBR | EUR | HUN | TUR | ITA | BEL | JPN | CHN | BRA | ||||
| Vitantonio Liuzzi | 14 | 17 | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | 17 | Ret | 16 | Ret | Ret | 15 | ||||||||||||
| Scott Speed | Ret | 14 | Ret | Ret | 9 | Ret | 13 | Ret | Ret | Ret | ||||||||||||||
| Sebastian Vettel | 16 | 19 |
External links
References
- ^ Irvine in talks over Minardi sale news.bbc.co.uk Retrieved 2 August 2006
- ^ Press Information - FIA Formula One World Championship October 22 2004 www.fia.com Retrieved 26 April 2006
- ^ "Liuzzi to race for Toro Rosso". GPUpdate.net. 2007-02-13. Retrieved 2007-02-13.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ "Toro Rosso appoint new technical director". Formula1.com. 2007-04-02. Retrieved 2007-04-02.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ "Vettel to race for Toro Rosso in 2008". autosport.com. 2007-08-02. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Bourdais replaces Liuzzi for 2008". F1Fanatic.co.uk. 2007-08-10. Retrieved 2007-08-10.
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