Since entering the sport in 2006, Toro Rosso has always been somewhat of a dark horse in Formula One.
Although Toro Rosso doesn’t have the finances of sister team Red Bull, they have always been able to pull off some shock results – most notably Sebastian Vettel’s first win at Monza in 2008.
However, there position in the championship at the end of the year has always suffered as a result of their poor reliability, with sixth place in the 2008 constructors’ championship been their best finish, despite regularly having a car capable of challenging at the front of the midfield.
This season, however, may be their best chance of finally breaking into the top five.
For starters, they have one of the best-motivated driver pairings on the grid. Carlos Sainz is being courted by several of the top teams and, with Red Bull’s driver lineup secure for a while, the Spaniard needs to keep on impressing if his career is to progress.
As for Daniil Kvyat, he really is fighting for his career. After being unceremoniously demoted back to Toro Rosso last season, this is his last chance to secure another drive – he will almost certainly be replaced by Pierre Gasly in 2018 and was fortunate not to be for this year. It’s amazing what the chance to prove yourself can do to a driver, as we saw with Ricciardo and Vergne in 2013 after Mark Webber announced his retirement.
A good driver requires a good car, and I believe that the STR12 will give Sainz and Kvyat a real fighting chance.
James Key is a very underrated technical director and, since the start of the hybrid era, only the power unit has let his cars down. Despite having a few niggles in pre-season, Renault appears to have got their act together now. Hopefully, this gives the STR12 a chance to unlock its full potential.
There were a lot of disheartened staff at Toro Rosso following the Mercedes car launch, as the Silver Arrows is very similar in concept to the Faenza team’s car. Toro Rosso really thought that they had found a unique aero concept for the new regulations. Even the casual viewer can notice the similarities between the two cars.
This isn’t all bad, though, and confirms they have likely pursued the correct development paths over the winter. They historically never show their hand in testing, but in 2017 they hinted at their potential when Sainz set a 1m19.837s, which was just over a second slower than the quickest time of the test.
With highly motivated drivers, a great technical director and well-designed car, Toro Rosso really are the potential dark horse for this year. Helmut Marko wants the team to finish fifth in the constructors’, could this finally be the year they manage it?
