When Red Bull took over Minardi in 2006 and renamed it Scuderia Toro Rosso, they inherited a team ambience that was among the most upbeat in the Formula 1 paddock, but also an outfit that had remained winless since 1985.
The victory – when it finally came, at a rain-soaked Monza in 2008 – was uplifting; the universal praise from other teams an antidote to the more usual paddock backbiting.
This tiny junior team — just 160 staff in Faenza, Italy — still operates on a relative shoestring as it acts as a talent school for its Red Bull sibling. Which makes it all the more amazing that Toro Rosso managed to outperform big brother in 2008, pipping Red Bull to sixth in the standings thanks to that win and a series of consistent points finishes from young protégé Sebastian Vettel.
What has changed in recent years is that Toro Rosso is back building its own chassis after four years of benefiting from Red Bull design nous. Team boss Franz Tost and designer Giorgio Ascanelli certainly have experience in the pits, but can young guns Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari deliver on the track?
Daniel Ricciardo Jean-Eric Vergne