01/02/2010
NEWS STORY
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Toro Rosso has unveiled its 2010 contender in Valencia this morning, the first car designed and built by the Italian team.
In recent years, more and more production had been undertaken at the team's Faenza facility, but in 2010 - when the rules no longer permit one team to share its design with another - Red Bull's 'sister' team has to go it alone.
The STR5 has been designed and built to conform to the technical regulations which apply this year. Although the changes are not as significant as those introduced in 2009, they are important enough to have had a major impact on the philosophy of the car.
Possibly the biggest difference stems from the fact that the 2010 car has been designed to make the most of running a double diffuser, whereas in 2009, the car had to be adapted mid-season to make use of this device. Another unusual feature of the new rules is that the introduction of a narrower front tyre was originally conceived as part of a move to facilitate overtaking, in conjunction with the KERS system, which all teams have actually agreed to leave on the shelf this season. Understanding how the new tyres work - the rears also feature a different construction - will be one of the main tasks undertaken in February testing.
Also significant in defining the shape of the car is the ban on refuelling, which requires a much larger fuel cell. This has led to STR5 being longer than its predecessor.
Scuderia Toro Rosso has undergone a recent and rapid expansion of its design team and its wind tunnel in Bicester is also a relatively new tool. These two factors mean the overall design of STR5 could be seen as conservative, given that getting a new workforce to operate as a team and validating and learning to trust wind tunnel data is not the work of a moment. The extra fuel load has not just impacted on the shape of the car, as the additional weight has meant a reappraisal of the suspension and braking, as well as other areas.
For the fourth consecutive year, the Toro is powered by Ferrari. With engine development strictly limited, winter work on the V8 has focussed on reliability and fuel consumption, the latter particularly significant this year, with the refuelling ban.
Toro Rosso made its debut in 2006, when Red Bull's motives in acquiring a second team were prompted by the need to find cockpits for the rookie drivers it had nurtured in its Young Driver Programme. Sebastian Vettel demonstrated the effectiveness of the young driver idea, by securing the team's first win in the 2008 Italian Grand Prix and the Faenza outfit continues to fill the role of training camp, fielding the two youngest drivers on the grid, Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari. Franz Tost remains at the helm with Giorgio Ascanelli heading the technical operation
With a longer than usual nineteen race season ahead, the team has reached its first target in having the new car ready for the first of the fifteen days of winter testing, which will be the key to ensuring that the car, the team and drivers are as well prepared as possible for the first round in Bahrain.