Red Bull Motorsports
F1
Scuderia Toro Rosso unleash the new STR13
The brand new Toro is on track now and ready for the 2018 Formula One season.
Beginning its 13th season in Formula One, there’s a temptation to assume it’s business as usual for Toro Rosso. But with the launch of the STR13 at Italy’s Mugello circuit last week, the team embarked on something almost entirely new.
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Watch Scuderia Toro Rosso’s unveiling of the STR13 car
Scuderia Toro Rosso unveils the STR13, their brand new F1 car for the 2018 season.
Fast forward a week and the STR13 got its ‘official’ unveiling in the pitlane at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Team principal Franz Tost stood behind the car alongside technical director James Key and drivers Brendon Hartley and Pierre Gasly. Also prominent was the red band of Honda branding emblazoned on the sidepods. The team was beginning a new relationship with the Japanese engine manufacturer and will be the sole focus of Honda’s efforts in 2018.
This is unchartered territory for Toro Rosso. They aren’t exactly a works team, nor are they a customer outfit as they’ve been in their 12 previous seasons. It's clear that these are exciting times at the team’s headquarters in Faenza, Italy.
The STR13 in action
© Samo Vidic/Red Bull Content Pool
“They had some tough times last year and they really want to turn that around so their intentions are very, very clear," says the team’s Technical Director, James key. "Their ambitions are very similar to our ambitions really.”
The transition hasn’t been straightforward. Toro Rosso-Honda was born on September 15, with the announcement made at the Singapore Grand Prix. That’s very late in the day for a car that’s been on the drawing boards for the best part of a year to accept a new power unit. It has huge implications for everything behind the driver, with different packaging requirements, cooling demands, even things as mundane as locating access points.
The main problem, however, stems from the basic design philosophy. There are two competing schools of thought in F1 at the moment. The Renault and Ferrari power units that Toro Rosso have used previously site their turbo at the back of the engine with their MGU-H pushed forwards into the vee of the internal combustion engine. Honda share the Mercedes approach of splitting the turbocharger across the engine, with the compressor at the front and the turbine at the back. It has knock-on effects for everything from the path intake air has to take to the shape of the gearbox housing.
We built up a completely new car with the new power unit from Honda which has integrated quite well
"Based on the first two days of testing, the job seems to have done well. While the times aren’t important, Toro Rosso are right at the top of the league in terms of accrued mileage,“ says Franz Tost. “We have a really good cooperation with Honda and in the end, I must say I think we have a competitive package.”
The STR13 sporting new Scuderia Toro Rosso colours
© Samo Vidic/Red Bull Content Pool
Looking on from the outside it doesn’t appear that Toro Rosso have struggled to adapt their car to a new power unit. The similarity to last year’s STR12 goes beyond the retaining blue and silver foil livery with many of the design elements of the new car similar to those that finished 2017. Obviously, the car looks different, with the addition of the Halo and the removal of the shark fin engine cover as mandated by the technical regulations. But otherwise it looks like a tidy evolution of the car that went before it – the huge change is all tucked away neatly beneath the surface.
