2011 end of term report – Toro Rosso Ferrari

Ninth in the 2010 standings, the Scuderia Toro Rosso made great strides in 2011. It took eighth in this year’s championship, with a total of 41 points.
The Faenza-based team started the season slowly but gathered speed throughout the season and didn’t stop developing its car.

Season review

The team renewed its confidence to Sébastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari for the second consecutive year. But both of them were under huge pressure, with Daniel Ricciardo waiting in the wings. Should they fail to deliver, the Australian would be drafted in.
It created a bit of tension between Buemi and Alguersuari who collided in the opening lap of the Australian Grand Prix. They were both able to continue and the Swiss driver scored points.
The tension eventually eased off, even more so when Ricciardo was promoted to a racing seat at HRT.

During the first part of the season, the STR6 proved reliable but not very consistent performance-wise. It then improved and the drivers were able to score points on a regular basis. The team pushed hard on the development side and introduced many updates in the second part of the season, which helped it challenge Sauber and Force India.

Toro Rosso’s best result of the season came in Japan: Alguersuari finished in 7th position and Buemi in 9th place. The Spaniard scored four more points in India and the team closed on Sauber in the constructors’ championship. Nonetheless, disappointing races in Abu Dhabi and Brazil allowed the Swiss team to pull away and secure 7th in the standings.

Conclusion

Toro Rosso achieved his main goal in 2011 with 8th in the constructors’ championship. There was still a bit of disappointment, though, as 7th was definitely within its reach.

Expectations

STR has not yet confirmed its 2012 driver line-up, although it is expected to retain both Buemi and Alguersuari. Engine-wise, Toro Rosso will stick with Ferrari’s V8.
It could make another step forward with its STR7, thanks to a reinforced technical department – Luca Forbatto and Jon Tomlinson have recently joined the team.

Highs
—  Good rate of improvement
—  New sponsors and technical staff

Lows
—  Missed 7th in the championship by 3 points
—  Difficult start to the season
—  Huge pressure on the drivers

Nextgen-Auto.com marks:
— Olivier Ferret : 13/20
— D.Thys : 15/20
— Sandrine Bouchard : 14/20
— Jean-Michel Setbon : 12/20
— Average mark on the forum Nextgen-Auto.com : 12/20
—  Total : 66/100