Scuderia Toro Rosso unveiled their latest contender for this year’s world championship with the STR7, ahead of the official start of Formula One testing at Jerez.
As expected, the STR7 features a stepped nose, similar to that seen in all the 2012 Formula One cars unveiled so far apart from the McLaren MP4-27, which opted for a different approach with a low chassis and nose treatment.
The Toro Rosso, powered by Ferrari engines for the sixth season, will be driven by Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne after the team opted for an all-new line-up for the upcoming season.
Last year, the Faenza-based squad finished in eighth position in the constructors’ standings with Jaime Alguersuari and Sebastien Buemi.
“On Saturday (February 4th) at 10.00 am when loading the car I wasn’t convinced we could do it in time as there was so much snow, but we did it,” said team boss Franz Tost during the launch.
“The STR7 is the third car designed, fabricated and assembled completely by Toro Rosso. We have invested a lot of money to build up the infrastructure and I hope the results will be good in the forthcoming season. This investment was only possible because we have strong partners.
“Tomorrow (February 7th) we go out the first time with the new car and it is always something very special. We have two new highly skilled drivers and I am convinced both will do a very good job.
“Last year we finished eighth in constructors’ and this year we hope to do better, so seventh or more.”
The new car will take to the Spanish track for its debut run on the first official day of testing. Australian’s Ricciardo will have the unique honour to shakedown the new Toro Rosso STR7.
Scuderia Toro Rosso is set to revise its nose concept later this year, after technical director Giorgio Ascanelli admitted the version on its launch car was not aggressive enough.
With much focus this year on the stepped nose designs incorporated by teams, Ascanelli believes it is one area of its design where more work needs to be done.
“I think we could have been more aggressive, but at the end of the day the fact that we had to homologate the car before running here just cut down our development time,” he said following the launch of the STR7 at Jerez on Monday.
“Really, we got to that point when it was time to launch the impact campaign. There are [other] solutions being studied.”
Ascanelli suggested a new nose would appear over the course of the campaign, but he ruled out going as far as needing a new chassis.
“I am not going to do another chassis, but I think I am going to do another nose. Like we did last year, but last year it took a little bit too long. Hopefully this year we are better prepared for it.”
Ascanelli has labelled his team’s 2012 challenger a ‘revolutionary evolution’, with the design featuring some aggressive updates of concepts it introduced last year – like the twin-floor.
He said the decision to lengthen the gearbox was the result of the team electing to shorten its chassis for aerodynamic reasons.
“The team has also been able to undercut the sidepods even more than last year, with the radiator inlets being quite small, because it has fitted another cooling inlet underneath the airbox.
“We have raised the sidepods again and moved the cooling behind the head of the driver,” he said. “It’s a shorter chassis, with a longer gearbox, so we will see.”
Source: Autosport.com
New Formula One rookie Jean-Eric Vergne is looking forward to the new season and hopes to thrive under the pressure of Toro Rosso’s 2012 Formula One campaign. Autosport.com has the details.
Jean-Eric Vergne says he hopes to thrive under the pressure of moving into Formula 1 with Toro Rosso.
The Frenchman believes competing for a team of more than 200 staff will help drive him forward in 2012 – as will the fact that he is partnering fellow Red Bull protege Daniel Ricciardo, who has the benefit of 11 grands prix with HRT from 2011 to fall back on.
“At the end of the day the driver must make the difference and bring the car home – and in a team with so many people there is obviously a bit of pressure there,” Vergne said after unveiling his team’s STR7 at Jerez.
“I like that though – it is what drives me forward.
“Being team-mate to Daniel will also help move me and the team [move] forward. I know him very well and he’s a really good driver, so it’s a great benchmark for me to have – although I am also working to be better than him.”
Despite impressing in various test outings for both Toro Rosso and Red Bull in the past two seasons, Vergne – the 2010 British F3 champion – says he is remaining realistic about his prospects in 2012, and insists he has to prove he is worthy of his Toro Rosso seat.
“I have been with Red Bull for the past five years, working a lot with the team, and I also have done Friday practices with Toro Rosso, all of which I think helped convince them I was good enough to be in the car. I need to prove them right.
“I have a lot to learn, and I need to gain as much experience as possible, particularly from testing. It’s going to be tough but I’m really looking forward to it.
“It would be nice to finish as many times as possible in the points, but first we have to see how our car compares to others. The team did an incredible job last year though and I hope this year we can do even better.”
As for Daniel Ricciardo, the Australian is keen to assert himself as team leader at Scuderia Toro Rosso. Autosport.com has the story.
Daniel Ricciardo says he is ready to assume the role of team leader at Scuderia Toro Rosso if he can assert himself over new rookie team-mate Jean-Eric Vergne in 2012.
The Australian, speaking at the unveiling of the STR-7 at Jerez on Monday, indicated that the team’s goal was to be a regular points finisher and that he wanted to be able to deliver that as soon as possible.
“We have gone a step forward, and this is definitely a pretty obvious and big step hopefully towards the big one,” said Ricciardo. “Everyone I’m sure has faith in their own team but I’ve definitely got it with mine. Seeing the work they have done over the winter, I’ve been in Faenza a few times in January and I know they are very happy with the final product. So now we’ll see what it does on track.”
Ricciardo added that based on Toro Rosso’s form in the second half of 2011, there was strong evidence that the Red Bull-owned outfit could build on that momentum early in the season.
“I think if it’s anything to go by how the performance was at the end of last year then we can definitely be realistic about points,” he said. “It’s probably easier said than done, but I am going to have a pretty competitive car this year, at least more so than I had than last year.
“We’ll see tomorrow once testing gets underway and we know what we have got underneath us.
“I know they have just tried to go better than what they had already last year, so if it’s an improvement on that then points are realistic.”
Asked whether he was ready to step up and lead the team as its most experienced driver – STR sacked both Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Algersuari at the end of last year – Ricciardo replied: “Yeah I would love to. That’s the goal.
“The team hasn’t set out a leader or anything but obviously if I can be the dominant driver I think that’s everyone’s little aim.”
Jaime Alguersuari has revealed that he turned down another offer for 2012 because he believed his Toro Rosso seat was secure.
The Spaniard and erstwhile team-mate Sebastien Buemi were both dropped when Toro Rosso opted to promote Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne to its 2012 race seats.
Alguersuari insists that he had been assured by the Red Bull hierarchy that he would be kept on.
“I was verbally confirmed during the Brazilian GP,” he said. “Hence, being confirmed by Red Bull and STR, I rejected a very good offer.”
He added: “On December 13th, when Red Bull Racing told me that I was no longer part of the family I said that I was not going to judge them, neither I was feeling like a victim and that this was not a drama. But let me say just one thing: they hurt me, and moreover, it was unnecessary.”
Although there are no more race seats available in Formula 1 for the upcoming season, Alguersuari said he was negotiating for a role with one of the leading teams and was not considering non-F1 options.
“I will never pay for a seat. In January I have had some conversations which might be decisive in my future with one of the top F1 teams,” he said. “I must say that I had a very warm welcome, and they pay a lot of respect for me and we have opened a path.
“Obviously I can not reveal the nature of our intentions. All I will say is that I will be fully dedicated to F1 in 2012. My duty is being ready to deliver if the opportunity comes up. And that’s what I’m doing now.”
HRT and Williams still had vacancies when Alguersuari lost his Toro Rosso seat, and while he said he did not consider Williams – “today, they only need drivers that pay” – he did enter talks with the Spanish squad’s boss Luis Perez-Sala before deciding against joining for now.
“We both had the same feeling,” Alguersuari said. “HRT does not have a car for me today and I cannot liquidate my heritage at my age fighting to improve a car, which of course will be far behind on the grid.
“HRT is not an option for me now. I cannot bear to be penultimate on the grid every race. Luis did totally agree with me since the very beginning.
“Having said that I believe that [Pedro] de la Rosa has wide enough capacity to develop and improve these cars as well as the team. Maybe this opens new opportunities for the future. I’m convinced that the team that manages HRT will be capable of having a competitive car in the future.”
Source: Autosport.com