Toro Rosso

Formula 1 Team reports for the 2010 F1 season includes race previews, reports and reviews

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Toro Rosso

Post by Ed » Sat Jan 23, 2010 1:05 pm

SCUDERIA TORO ROSSO CONFIRMS ALGUERSUARI

With the 2010 season fast approaching, Scuderia Toro Ross is pleased to confirm that Jaime Alguersuari will drive for the team this year.

“Considering that he made his debut only halfway through 2009, at the Hungarian Grand Prix, with no prior testing, he did a good job, making steady progress throughout the second half of the year, with a mature approach considering he is still only nineteen years old,” commented Team Principal, Franz Tost. “This season, he will again face a steep learning curve, as all the circuits in the first part of the season will be new to him. Jaime’s appointment also confirms our team’s commitment to bringing on graduates of the Red Bull Young Driver Programme.”

Today’s announcement means the team retains the same driver lineup,
as Alguersuari will again be partnered by Sebastien Buemi.

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Post by Ed » Tue Jan 26, 2010 10:42 pm

RED BULL F1 ANNOUNCES RESERVES FOR 2010

The subs’ bench for Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Toro Rosso will be an all-Australasian affair for 2010, as the two teams confirm their reserve drivers: Australia’s Daniel Ricciardo and New Zealand’s Brendon Hartley. The two drivers, who are both members of the Red Bull Junior Team, will alternate the reserve driver duties on a race by race basis.

Daniel is the reigning champion of the British Formula 3 series. A native of Perth, the 20-year-old made a name for himself when his racing career bought him to Europe. After competing in Formula Renault Italy in 2007, he moved to Formula Renault West European Cup in 2008 and won the title, by taking ten pole positions and eight victories. He moved up a class in 2009 to the British Formula 3 Championship, where six wins and several points-scoring finishes saw him wrap up the Championship with two races to spare.

Ricciardo’s team-mate Brendon (20) hails from Palmerston North in New Zealand. After impressing in Formula Ford and the Toyota Racing Series on home turf, Brendon also moved to Europe to progress his career. In 2006 he contested the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 and Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup before winning the Eurocup title with a round to spare in 2007. In 2008 he moved to the British Formula Three Championship where he finished third, before moving to the F3 Euro Series last year. A recent highlight for the two drivers was taking part in the 2009 end of season F1 test in Jerez. Brendon was at the wheel of the TR4 for Scuderia Toro Rosso, while Daniel drove the RB5 for Red Bull Racing for all three days. After an impressive test, Daniel topped the time-sheets. Both drivers displayed good pace and offered useful feedback which aided the teams in their work ahead of the 2010 season.

While the position of reserve driver can sometimes be seen as one of the less active roles at the track, the position is far from ceremonial. Daniel and Brendon will sit-in on the briefings and debriefs, attend driver meetings and familiarise themselves with the everyday workings of the garage and pit-wall. They will also fulfil marketing commitments for the teams.

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Post by Ed » Wed Feb 03, 2010 9:03 am

The Toro Rosso team unveiled the STR5 at the Valencia track on Monday. The STR5 is the first fully built car by Toro Rosso.

Image

New Car Hits The Track

Today was an important one in the history of Scuderia Toro Rosso as its first car designed entirely in-house, the STR5, made its track debut on the first day of pre-season testing. With Sebastien Buemi at the wheel, the car (chassis number STR5-02) completed 10 laps before being sidelined with a gearbox control problem, which took some time to fix, before going back out on track for the final half hour. In total, he completed 18 laps, with a best time of 1.14.762.

Giorgio Ascanelli: “This morning we had a problem with one of the gearbox actuators, which we managed to improve, but not fix completely. It is too early to make any comment on the actual performance characteristics of the new car. In the short term, we will be trying to fix the actuator problem overnight, in the hope of having a better day tomorrow.”

Sebastien Buemi: “It’s good to start testing at last. This morning, we had a problem, which took a long time to analyse. We managed to get out again towards the end of the day, even though the fault was not completely fixed. At least we managed some running, which allowed us to work through the usual new car procedures, such as checking seat position, visibility from the cockpit, the systems and so on. But it is a bit too early to get an impression of what the car is like, especially those elements affected by the rule changes.”

Jaime Alguersuari: “It felt good to be back at a race track and hear the sound of F1 cars again, and I can’t wait until Wednesday, when I get my first turn behind the wheel.”

Buemi continues to drive tomorrow, while Alguersuari takes over on Wednesday.

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Post by Ed » Wed Feb 03, 2010 1:37 pm

VALENCIA TEST – DAY 2 2 February 2010

Circuit: Circuit de la Comunitat Valenciana – 4.005 kms
Driver: Sebastien Buemi
Chassis: STR5 - 02
Best time: 1:13.823, 107 laps

A better day today for the new car. Overnight, the team managed to locate and fix the gearbox actuator problem that meant the car spent much of yesterday in the garage.

Therefore today, Sebastien Buemi completed a good number of laps and the team worked through the normal programme for a new car: carrying out basic evaluations of the car systems and brakes, as well as starting to get an understanding of the two new Bridgestone compounds that are available here in Valencia.

Sebastien Buemi: “The car felt good today and I’m happy to have completed many more laps compared to yesterday. We still had some minor issues, but we were able to fix these. By the end of the day we have collected a lot of data to analyse, which will help us to get a better understanding of the new car. A comparison with the old car is difficult because of the different fuel loads and tyres that apply this year.
All in all, it was a good day and we will see what we can learn tomorrow.”

For tomorrow’s final day of this test, Jaime Alguersuari takes over from
Sebastien Buemi.

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Post by Ed » Thu Feb 04, 2010 3:21 pm

VALENCIA TEST – DAY 3 3 February 2010

Circuit: Circuit de la Comunitat Valenciana – 4.005 kms
Driver: Jaime Alguersuari
Chassis: STR5 - 02
Best time: 1:12.576, 97 laps

After Sebastien Buemi drove for the past two days of this first winter test session, it was Jaime Alguersuari’s turn to get his hands on the STR5. A huge crowd of over 30,000 turned out to see our Spanish driver, although it’s possible they were also there for De La Rosa and Alonso!

Once Jaime’s installation in the car had been checked, he soon got down to quick and consistent lap times over long runs. The technical programme included a repeat of yesterday’s systems checks, an aero evaluation, scans of running on different fuel loads and an assessment of the Bridgestone Soft and Supersoft compounds.

“It felt good to complete my first ever Formula 1 test session, as last season I was never able to do any testing. I was able to concentrate on understanding the car, without having to think about it in terms of a race weekend,” said Jaime Alguersuari. “Personally, I felt much stronger in the car, as I have been training hard in the three months since I last drove in Abu Dhabi. Today was a positive experience and I’m looking forward now to next week in Jerez. It’s too early to say much about the car’s performance, but it felt competitive.”

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Post by Ed » Thu Feb 11, 2010 9:03 am

JEREZ TEST – DAY 1

10 February 2010

Circuit: Circuito de Jerez – 4.428 kms
Driver: Sebastien Buemi
Chassis: STR5 - 02
Best time: 1:21.031, 84 laps

Formula 1’s tour of Southern Spain continues, with the second pre-season test getting underway at the Jerez de la Frontera circuit. As predicted, rain was a constant factor, falling in varying degrees throughout the day, apart from the first half hour or so. Sebastien’s best time of the day was set in that dry period and after this, the STR5 had its first taste of running in the wet, so that the day proved to be an effective test of the Bridgestone Intermediates and Extreme wets. It’s worth noting that the Intermediates are a new tyre, with the front sharing the same narrow width as the dry tyres. As for the Extremes, these are the same tyres as in 2009, however they are mounted on narrower rims for 2010.

Switching between the two types of tyre, our Swiss driver also evaluated mechanical set-up suited to the wet conditions, as well as carrying out some launch simulations. The car ran reliably all day and the Toro Rosso day ended slightly ahead of the final chequered flag as the entire wet running programme had been completed for the day.

Buemi continues driving tomorrow

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Post by Ed » Fri Feb 12, 2010 10:18 am

JEREZ TEST – DAY 2
11 February 2010

Circuit: Circuito de Jerez – 4.428 kms
Driver: Sebastien Buemi
Chassis: STR5 - 02
Best time: 1:20.026, 121 laps
After a damp time on Wednesday, today’s conditions meant the car ran all day on dry weather tyres. Sebastien completed a good number of laps,important as more rain is forecast for tomorrow. On the agenda for today was an evaluation of a few aero parts, an assessment of different mechanical set-ups and runs with different fuel loads. Our Swiss driver also tried all three compounds brought here by Bridgestone – the Soft, Medium and Hard.

“I am pleased with how the past two days have gone and although rain is never ideal, yesterday’s damp conditions meant we could try the wet weather tyres,” said Sebastien Buemi. “Today, in the dry, we were able to do a lot of laps, as the car ran reliably. We tried various set-ups and ran with different fuel loads, so we are beginning to get a better understanding of STR5 in general.”

Jaime Alguersuari takes over at the wheel tomorrow.

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Post by Ed » Sat Feb 13, 2010 12:25 pm

JEREZ TEST – DAY 3 12 February 2010

Circuit: Circuito de Jerez – 4.428 kms
Driver: Jaime Alguersuari
Chassis: STR5 - 02
Best time: 1:19.919, 76 laps

As predicted, rain was the main factor today, although the team made the most of the first dry hour this morning to do a base line run, with Jaime Alguersuari taking over from Sebastien Buemi in the cockpit. It was during this period that Jaime set his best time of the day.

From then on, it was a case of the Catalan driver getting his first taste of this year’s rain tyres, starting on Intermediates, in the light drizzle that began to fall, before switching to the Extremes when the rain intensified. Later, conditions were so bad that testing was abandoned with around 45 minutes of the session remaining. Jaime completed long runs on both types of rain tyre: the car ran reliably and the driver made no mistakes in the tricky conditions.

Jaime Alguersuari continues driving tomorrow, for the final day of this test, when rain is again on the radar.

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Post by Ed » Sun Feb 14, 2010 11:51 am

JEREZ TEST – DAY 4

Circuit: Circuito de Jerez – 4.428 kms
Driver: Jaime Alguersuari
Chassis: STR5 - 02
Best time: 1:24.072, 98 laps

After a slightly damp track in the morning, the weather improved for the final day of this test session, allowing Jaime Alguersuari to get some dry running under his belt in the new STR5. On the technical agenda today, race set-up work, using the Soft and Medium Bridgestone tyres and a back-to-back comparison of some aero parts.

“I’m pleased with how these two days of testing went,” said Jaime Alguersuari. “It was very useful to drive the car with different fuel loads and in different track conditions, in the dry, in the wet and “intermediate” conditions. Overall, it has been a positive week for me and also for the team.”

“With another 98 laps completed today, we got through all our programme this week and have acquired plenty of data to study in preparation for the next test,” commented Chief Engineer, Laurent Mekies. “The past four days have been satisfactory, as the car never once stopped out on track and the two drivers didn’t make any mistakes, which always helps!”

The team now stays in Jerez to prepare the car for the next test session, which runs from 17 to 20 February at this same circuit. Buemi drives the first two days, followed by Alguersuari for the last two.

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Post by Ed » Thu Feb 18, 2010 11:33 am

JEREZ TEST – DAY 1 17 February 2010

Circuit: Circuito de Jerez – 4.428 kms
Driver: Sebastien Buemi
Chassis: STR5 - 02
Best time: 1:23.322, 79 laps

Just four days after the end of the last test session, the third and penultimate one of the winter got underway today, again at Jerez de la Frontera, with a total of eleven teams in action.

It was a case of same venue – same weather, as yet again, rain showers came and went throughout the day. At least the weather meant it was possible to acquire useful data regarding the optimum switching point between dry, intermediate and extreme wet tyres.

On the agenda in the Scuderia Toro Rosso camp was a brake system evaluation and fortunately, there were enough dry laps available for Sebastien to complete this. The STR5 had no major technical problems today and our Swiss driver will be in action again tomorrow, when more rain is forecast.

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Post by Ed » Fri Feb 19, 2010 9:06 am

JEREZ TEST – DAY 2 18 February 2010

Circuit: Circuito de Jerez – 4.428 kms
Driver: Sebastien Buemi
Chassis: STR5 - 02
Best time: 1:32.678, 57 laps

This was undoubtedly the worst, in terms of the weather, of the nine days of pre-season testing held so far this month. Sebastien completed just 57 laps, running rain tyres throughout. With performance testing not really an option in these conditions, the team worked through a programme that included practice launches and some race pit stops. However, Sebastien completed a 25 lap race stint simulation, which at least produced some useful data in terms of running in race trim in wet conditions.

“The bad weather meant we could not get through all of our planned programme for today and we also lost a bit of time with a hydraulic problem,” said Sebastien Buemi. “So, it’s a bit disappointing, but now I’m looking forward to the Barcelona test and hopefully some dry running.”

The weather forecast is predicting drier conditions for the remaining two days, when Jaime Alguersuari is due to take over at the wheel of the STR5.

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Post by Ed » Sat Feb 20, 2010 7:47 pm

JEREZ TEST – DAY 3

19 February 2010

Circuit: Circuito de Jerez – 4.428 kms
Driver: Jaime Alguersuari
Chassis: STR5 - 02
Best time: 1:22.564, 120 laps

Once the team had managed to splash through the flooded roads and motorways to get to the track this morning, it was time to unpack the slick tyres, as the sun finally shone in southern Spain.

The weather made for a straightforward day, during which Jaime was able to complete a high mileage, running just one tyre compound throughout. On the STR5 development programme was a brake system evaluation, as well as an assessment of a few aero components. The car ran trouble-free from green light to chequered flag.

Jaime Alguersuari continues driving tomorrow, the final day of this session.

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Post by Ed » Sun Feb 21, 2010 12:21 pm

JEREZ TEST – DAY 4 20 February 2010

Circuit: Circuito de Jerez – 4.428 kms
Driver: Jaime Alguersuari
Chassis: STR5 - 02
Best time: 1:21.053, 139 laps

This was the fourth and final day of the penultimate test of the winter. In the morning, Jaime did some aero evaluation runs and in the afternoon, the team tackled a race simulation. Over the whole day, the STR5 completed the equivalent of over two race distances. “That is encouraging on the reliability front,” said Chief Engineer, Laurent Mekies. “Even with the rain interrupting our programme this week, it has been quite a useful test, working on both dry and wet weather basic set-up. However, there is still a fair amount of work to do before the first race in Bahrain and we hope to get a lot more testing miles under our belt, in Barcelona next week.”

Despite driving two Grands Prix today, our Spanish driver’s winter training programme seems to have paid off, as he seemed in fine form after the session! “These past two days in the car have been successful and it was good that the weather improved, so I could manage to drive in the dry,” commented Jaime Alguersuari. “The most important aspect is that the car ran reliably, which was our main target here in Jerez. It puts us in good shape to tackle the final test in Barcelona.”

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Post by Ed » Fri Feb 26, 2010 8:53 am

BARCELONA TEST – DAY 1 25 February 2010

Circuit: Circuit de Catalunya – 4.655 kms
Driver: Jaime Alguersuari
Chassis: STR5 - 02
Best time: 1:24.869, 111 laps

In the words of Swedish rock group, “Europe,” it’s the final countdown.” Eleven teams began a four day test in Barcelona, the last session of the winter, before the serious business begins in Bahrain in a couple of weeks.

With Jaime and two other Spanish drivers on track today, the crowds began queuing to get in well before the start of the action at nine o’clock, while members of Jaime’s Fan Club soon had a banner hanging from the grandstand opposite the pits. He gave them plenty to see, as he completed 111 laps, the most of any driver today. The morning was dedicated to set-up work on the STR5, while in the afternoon, the team evaluated a new braking system. Throughout the day, the car ran on just one of the three Bridgestone compounds available here.

“It was encouraging to have another trouble free day, completing a high mileage,” said Jaime Alguersuari. “We learned a lot doing long runs on the Soft compound tyre and I’m looking forward to tackling a different programme tomorrow.”

Alguersuari has one more day in the cockpit, before Sebastien Buemi takes over for Saturday and Sunday.

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Post by Ed » Sat Feb 27, 2010 10:06 am

BARCELONA TEST – DAY 2 26 February 2010

Circuit: Circuit de Catalunya – 4.655 kms
Driver: Jaime Alguersuari
Chassis: STR5 - 02
Best time: 1:21.571, 104 laps

Listening to the radio conversation between the pit wall and the car this afternoon, you could be forgiven for thinking this was a Grand Prix Sunday. A full race day simulation was on Jaime Alguersuari’s programme, for what is his last day of winter testing, prior to the Bahrain Grand Prix. The race distance was duly completed, including one pit stop and one further unscheduled trip down pit lane, when another car caused a red flag stoppage. The STR 5 ran reliably throughout.

Having practiced pit stops at the factory on a daily basis over the winter and also at the three previous test sessions in Valencia and Jerez, this morning the race crew tackled their first “real” pit stops, using the new pit-stop gantry designed to accommodate the lack of race refuelling. After completing the full programme for the day, the team stopped testing prior to the official end of the session. Sebastien Buemi takes over at the wheel for the final two days.

“Today was very useful in that it is a good confidence boost to have completed a race simulation on my last day of testing before the start of the season,” said Jaime Alguersuari. “It is still too early to talk about where we are in performance terms, but with a good mileage achieved over these four test sessions, I feel much better prepared than when I made my debut in the middle of last year.”

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