Toro Rosso STR2
From Powersports Information Wiki Source
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The Toro Rosso STR2 is the formula one car that the Scuderia Toro Rosso team competed in the 2007 Formula One season and will continue to use in the early stages of the 2008 season. The car was first unveiled on the 13th of February 2007 at the Circuit de Catalunya.
For the 2008 season, Toro Rosso STR2 will be driven by Sebastian Vettel and four time Champ Car World Series champion Sébastien Bourdais. Vettel was fastest in one of the late 2007 tests in Jerez on the 2009-spec Bridgestone slick tyres and with lower downforce levels.
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Design
Toro Rosso has decided to race with an updated version of the STR2, or what Vettel called the evolution of the 2007 car, in the early stages of the 2008 season as the STR3 is highly unlikely to be race-ready before April. Both Vettel and Bourdais have evaluated the new additions to the STR2B after the car was ran during the three-day Valencia test in mid-January. The drivers were also quite pleased with what they've tested thus far as Vettel managed to place within the top ten during the duration of the course, twice finishing the race in 8th place.
In its launching prior to the 2007 season, the team said that the STR2 was a development version of Red Bull Racing's RB3 which was designed by renowned designer Adrian Newey. Newey has previously designed Championship-winning cars at both Williams and McLaren.
Meanwhile, in preparation for 2008, the STR2B has also included in its design new additions that have been brought about by the recent rule changes, including the Standardised Electronic Control Unit (SECU) as well as the gearbox. The new McLaren Electronic Systems SECU prevents the cars that have electronic driver aids like engine braking and traction control while the gearbox that will be implemented needs to last four races or a stiff penalty of five places on the starting grid will be incurred.
The team has put much effort in the development of the gearbox for the updated car while also implementing higher headrests around the cockpit. In addition, the vehicle has also undergone a total re-working of the front suspension to make better use of the Bridgestone Potenza tyres as well as to clean up the area from the front wing to under the drivers seat to further improve the efficiency of the rear diffuser.
Controversy
Spyker and Williams believed that the STR2 was identical to the Red Bull RB3, which violates the Concorde Agreement stating that all teams are required to construct their own individual chassis.
Red Bull and Toro Rosso were able to use the chassis designed by Newey after the famed designer was employed by 'new' consortium named Red Bull Technology, thus providing a loop-hole for STR around the prohibition of chassis sharing as both teams were legally using a car developed by an 'independent' third party.
Videos
| Toro Rosso driver Sebastien Bourdais takes the STR2 on the tracks of Circuit Catalunya. (Montmelo.F1.Tests.02.02.08) |
Formula One Results
| Year | Team | Engine | Tires | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Points | WCC |
| 2007 | Scuderia Toro Rosso | Ferrari V8 | Bridgestone | AUS | MAL | BHR | ESP | MON | CAN | USA | FRA | GBR | EUR | HUN | TUR | ITA | BEL | JPN | CHN | BRA | 8 | 7th | ||
| Liuzzi | 14 | 17 | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | 17 | Ret | 16 | Ret | Ret | 15 | 17 | 12 | 9 | 6 | 13 | |||||||
| Speed | Ret | 14 | Ret | Ret | 9 | Ret | 13 | Ret | Ret | Ret | ||||||||||||||
| Vettel | 16 | 19 | 18 | Ret | Ret | 4 | Ret | |||||||||||||||||
| 2008 | Scuderia Toro Rosso | Ferrari V8 | Bridgestone | AUS | MAL | BHR | ESP | TUR | MON | CAN | FRA | GBR | GER | HUN | EUR | BEL | ITA | SIN | CHN | JPN | BRA | |||
| Bourdais | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Vettel |
References
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