MENU
The 2019 F1 Toro Rosso team is a Formula One racing team from Italy which is known by its popular name Toro Rosso or STR and races under the constructor name Scuderia Toro Rosso. Toro Rosso literally means “Red Bull” which is the actual name of its sister team in Formula One racing.
History
The team was born when Paul Stoddart sold his remaining shares in the Mirandi team to Red Bull in 2005. Red Bull then renamed the team “Toro Rosso”. From 2007-2013, Toro Rosso used Ferrari’s V-8 engines to take over from the contract that Red Bull broke from in 2006. Toro Rosso used Renault engines in 2016 switched back to Renault in 2017 and then to Honda beginning this season.
Vitantonio Liuzzi scored Toro Rosso’s first ever points at the 2006 U.S. Grand Prix while German Sebastian Vettel recorded the team’s first pole and race victory at the 2008 Italian Grand Prix. That pole and race victory are the only ones in Toro Rosso’s trophy case although the team has earned a total of 419 Formula One points in 251 races started/
Engine
Scuderia Toro Rosso’s car for the 2019 Formula One season is called the Toro Rosso STR14. It is the second Toro Rosso car constructed by Honda and it made its competitive debut at the 2019 Australian Grand Prix and was driver by drivers Alexander albon and Daniil Kvyat. The car was designed by James Key, the technical director at Scuderia Toro Rosso.
Its engine is a Honda RA619H 1.6 L (98 cu in) direct injection V6 turbocharged engine limited to 15,000 RPM in a mid-mounted, rear-wheel drive layout. The STR14 has Honda kinetic and thermal energy recovery systems as electric motor. It also boasts of a
Red Bull Technology Eight-speed sequential transmission, longitudinally mounted with hydraulic system for power shift and clutch operation.
According to Scuderia Toro Rosso deputy technical director Jody Eggington, the STR14 is the “most complex” packaging the Faenza squad has ever undertaken. With sister team Red Bull also using Honda engines, it means that the STR14 has the same gearbox and rear suspension as the Red Bull cars.
Drivers
23-year old Thai-British driver Alexander Albon is in his first year in Formula One. Born to a Thai mother and a British father, Albon started out in karting and won numerous titles including the 2006 Super 1 Honda National Championship (Cadet Class), 2009 Super 1 Honda National Championship (KF3 Class) and the 2010 European Championship (KF3 Class).
After joining the Red Bull Junior team in 2012, Albon began racing open-wheel cars for the 2012 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 season under EPIC Racing. In 2015, he switched to Formula 3 and finished the season 7th overall. One year later, he raced alongside Charles Leclerc for ART in the GP3 Series where he finished second behind his Monegasque teammate. In 2017, he raced for ART but in the FIA Formula 2 Championship.
In 2018, he signed with Nissan e.dams for the 2018-19 Formula E season but was released before the season began after he got a call from Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda to race for them beginning the 2019 FIA Formula One season. Albon would be paired with Russian Daniil Kvyat.
Kvyat replaced Daniel Ricciardo at Toro Rosso in 2014. The 25-year old from Ufa in Russia made his debut at the 2014 Australian Grand Prix where he finished 9th and become the youngest driver to earn points in Formula One. In 2015, Kvyat drove for Red Bull to replace Sebastian Vettel who left for Ferrari. He finished 2nd in the 2015 Hungarian Grand Prix to become the second youngest driver to record a podium finish. Kvyat returned to Toro Rosso in 2016 and 2017 before becoming a test driver for Ferrari in 2018. He would return a second time to Toro Rosso in 2019.
Kvyat was the runner-up at the 2012 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 and the winner of the 2012 Formula Renault 2.0 Alps Series and the 2013 GP Series. After working in the corporate world, Kvyat started his racing career in 2005 in karting. In 2010, he raced for Formula BMW Pacific and Formula BMW Europe. The following year, he also tried his luck at the 2011 Toyota Racing Series before transitioning to Formula Renault.
Stats
The two Toro Rosso drivers are ranked next to each other in the 2019 Formula One Drivers standings. Alexander Albon is at #15 with a total of three points while Daniil Kvyat is 16th with a solitary point to boast. Both are considered as F1 betting longshots to win the Drivers title this year. Likewise, Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda isn’t expected to contend for the Constructors title as well.
Albon has two top 10 finishes this season. After finishing in 14th place during his maider race at the 2019 Australian Grand Prix, Albon finished 9th in Bahrain to earn the first points of his Formula One career. Albon then finished 10th in the Chinese Grand Prix and then fell out of the top 10 for the first time in three races after finishing 11th in Baku during the last race of the season. In four career races, Albon has picked up a total of three points.
On the other hand, Daniil Kvyat finished 10th in the 2019 Australian Grand Prix, 12th in the Bahrain Grand Prix and then retired in both the 2019 Shanghai Grand Prix and 2019 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. He finished the 2018 Formula One season in 19th place with a total of 5 points. In a total of 76 starts, Kvyat has earned a total of 134 Formula One points in his career while picking up two podiums and one fastest lap.
As for Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda, the team is ranked next to last in the Constructors standings with four total points earned after four races. The only team worse that Toro Rosso right now is Williams Mercedes who has yet to bag a single point in the 2019 Formula One season.
