Scuderia Toro Rosso have launched their 10th Formula One car that will compete in this year’s 2015 world championship. Their rookie line-up of Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen pulled off the Cepsa covers in the Jerez pit-lane a day before pre-season testing gets under-way at the circuit tomorrow.
The Renault-powered car features yet another unique take on front nose design in 2015, with a more pointed edge. The car also features
Team boss Franz Tost states that the SRT10 is ‘unique’ and will be the best Toro Rosso they’ve built in their 10 years of operation. “I am convinced it will be the best car we have ever built at Toro Rosso,” he said, “There has been a lot of hard work and a lot of investment in a unique design. The design looks clean. And if it looks clean and nice it should be fast.”
“The launch of the new STR10 car today here in Jerez de la Frontera marks the start of a new and hopefully thrilling F1 season. We are delighted that CEPSA has hosted us again and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank them, as well as our other long-term partners, Red Bull, Nova Chemicals and Sapinda, for their continuous collaboration over the years and I’m especially pleased that they are with us again this season as Scuderia Toro Rosso marks a decade in Formula 1. I’m also happy to welcome our new sponsor Estrella Galicia 0,0, who has just joined us today.”
“The 2015 season is a new challenge for all of us. We’ve put a lot of work into the STR10 and we are convinced that we will have a successful year. Our objective is to finish fifth in the constructors championship and we are ready to do our best to achieve it. Our engine partner Renault has also worked very hard to come up with new modifications and I’m sure that our joint effort will give us a package which will certainly be very competitive. All in all, we have a much stronger team as well as a very competitive STR10 and fast drivers; it’s a great combination.
“Another point that also makes me happy is that we have a very high-skilled young driver pairing which makes this season even more exciting. They both showed fantastic performances throughout their career, winning races and championships, and it’s because of their driving skills that Red Bull has decided to bring them to Scuderia Toro Rosso. I’m really sure that they are very well prepared for this challenge, as is the rest of the team. We are ready for it!”
Carlos Sainz makes his debut in Formula One fresh off of the back of winning the 2014 Formula Renault 3.5 championship with DAMS.
“I am very happy to be making my first official appearance as a Formula 1 driver here in Spain and I am looking forward to trying the car for the first time tomorrow,” Sainz said, “I have worked very hard over the winter on my personal fitness, as well as spending time in Faenza to familiarise myself with the team, having also done some days in the simulator. Now we have just 12 days to prepare for Melbourne, so going through all the race weekend procedures will be a priority for me, as well as putting in as many miles as possible behind the wheel.”
Max Verstappen’s debut comes with a hint of controversy. At the age of 17, he is set to eclipse the record for the youngest driver to take part in a Formula One Grand Prix when the Australian Grand Prix gets under-way; a record currently held by former Toro Rosso driver Jaime Alguersauri who was 19 when he made his début in Hungary 2009.
“I can’t wait for the season to start and tomorrow will seem like a very long day, watching Carlos in the car!” Max said, “With two days in the 2014 car at the Abu Dhabi test and the Friday mornings I did last season, combined with time spent in the simulator, I feel well prepared and I’m really up for this challenge, which is very exciting. Six days on track here in Spain and then it will be time to head for Australia and my first Grand Prix, something I have been looking forward to ever since I started karting.”
Toro Rosso’s launch leaves Red Bull as the only team to have not revealed or released images of their car. They are set to do so before testing gets going tomorrow, with Ricciardo on driving duties in the RB11.
