Scuderia Toro Rosso

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Toro Rosso

Full name	Scuderia Toro Rosso
Base	Faenza, Italy
Team principal	Franz Tost
Technical director	Alex Hitzinger
Race drivers	18. Vitantonio Liuzzi 19. Scott Speed
Test drivers	TBA
Chassis	STR02
Engine	Ferrari 057
Tyres	Bridgestone
Debut	2006 Bahrain Grand Prix
Final race	{{{Final}}}
Races competed	18
Constructors' Championships	none
Drivers' Championships	none
Race victories	0
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
2006 position	9th (1 points)

Scuderia Toro Rosso (Italian for Red Bull Race Team - initially supposed to be Squadra Toro Rosso then changed because squadra in Italian depicts a squad like a football team and such) is a Formula One racing team owned in a 50/50 partnership between the drinks company Red Bull and former racer Gerhard Berger, and which made its racing debut in 2006. The team principal is Franz Tost, formerly of BMW's motorsport division.

The team was set up by Red Bull with the purchase of the Minardi team and will have to keep its headquarter in Faenza, Italy until at least the 2007 season - a condition imposed by former Minardi boss Paul Stoddart at the time of the deal. Scuderia Toro Rosso will compete in Formula One as the Red Bull Racing's sister team with the aim of developing the skills of promising drivers. For the 2007 season Toro Rosso will be using Ferrari V8 engines, taking over the contract that their senior team broke from.

Contents 1 Sponsorship 2 Car 3 Drivers 4 Complete Formula One results 5 External links 6 References

[edit] 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). 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. Many Minardi fans were upset by this move, and over 15,000 fans signed an online petition [1] to keep the Minardi name.

[edit] Car

The 2006 chassis was a modified version of the 2005 Red Bull Racing's RB1. The team used a rev limited and air restricted Cosworth 3.0l V10 engines. This is a concession that was granted to assist less well funded teams, as it was considered that this would be far less costly for such teams than sourcing a V8 engine as required by the 2006 regulations^[1]. This has caused friction with the other teams, in particular Super Aguri and Midland who feel that this engine confers too much of an advantage. They contend that their concession to allow the team use a V10 engine was based on Minardi's dismal financial situation, and therefore does not apply now that the team is on a completely different financial footing.

There has been controversy surrounding the team, as the STR-1 chassis that they are using may be infringing the Concorde Agreement as each team is expected to design their own car and components for it. The STR-1 was bought from Red Bull Racing, who are still a F1 team (this was the same rule that stopped Super Aguri using the 2005 BAR chassis). The team state that RB1 was designed by Jaguar Racing before Ford sold its F1 efforts to Red Bull, which would make it legal to run their old machinery. If Jaguar stayed in Formula One in 2005, its chassis would have been named the R6.

Recently, the Toro Rossos have struggled in qualifying due to the fact that competitors can crank up their engine to 20,000 RPM to get more power out of the engine. 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.

[edit] Drivers

Vitantonio Liuzzi and Scott Speed are the 2006 race drivers, with Neel Jani filling the test/third driver role. Liuzzi has experience in Formula One with Scuderia Toro Rosso's parent team Red Bull Racing, and the FIA World F3000 Championship, a series which is now renamed GP2. Speed comes from America and found a path into F1 following the Red Bull Driver Search in the United States. That competition is now shut down as organisers achieved their objective by having an American in F1. He also competed in the GP2 Series in 2005, finishing 3rd overall. Jani also has F1 experience before STR as he was the test driver for Sauber Petronas in 2004. Similar to Speed, Jani competed in GP2 in 2005.

[edit] 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	STR01	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

[edit] External links

• Official Site
• Official Picture Website

[edit] References

Constructors and drivers competing in the 2007 Formula One championship
McLaren	Renault	Ferrari	Honda	BMW	Toyota
1 Alonso 2 Hamilton	3 Fisichella 4 Kovalainen	5 Massa 6 Räikkönen	7 Button 8 Barrichello	9 Heidfeld 10 Kubica	11 Schumacher 12 Trulli
Red Bull	Williams	Toro Rosso	Spyker	Super Aguri
14 Coulthard 15 Webber	16 Rosberg 17 Wurz	18 Liuzzi 19 Speed	20 Albers 21 ?	22 Sato 23 Davidson