Scuderia Toro Rosso

Origins

Minardi, which had competed in Formula One from 1985 to 2005, never achieved a podium finish and only finished as high as fourth in three races. Owner Paul Stoddart claimed 41 approaches to buy the team but preferred a buyer who could take it further and maintain its Italian base. The deal with Red Bull GmbH required the team to keep its headquarters in Faenza, Italy until at least the 2007 season. Red Bull abandoned the Minardi name immediately after taking control on 1 November 2005, initially reporting the name as 'Squadra Toro Rosso' before changing to 'Scuderia Toro Rosso' because squadra in Italian depicts a sports squad. Over 15,000 fans signed an online petition to keep the Minardi name, but were unsuccessful.

Racing history

For the 2006 season, Vitantonio Liuzzi and Scott Speed were the race drivers of the STR1, with Neel Jani as test driver. The chassis was a modified version of the 2005 Red Bull Racing RB1, which some teams felt infringed the Concorde Agreement, but Toro Rosso claimed the design originated from Jaguar Racing and that intellectual rights belonged to Ford Motor Company. The team used Minardi's contracted supply of rev-limited 2005-spec Cosworth V10 engines instead of new V8s, a concession granted to assist less well funded teams.

Other teams, including Super Aguri and Midland, contended the concession should not apply after the team's improved financial footing. Toro Rosso used Michelin tyres, which had last supplied Minardi in 2001 and 2002. As the season progressed, Toro Rosso struggled in qualifying and was permitted only 300 extra rpm by the FIA. For 2007, the team used the 2006-specification Ferrari 056 V8 engine rather than the 2007 works spec.

Sponsorship

Red Bull frequently buys and rebrands sports teams as part of its marketing, and Scuderia Toro Rosso was one such acquisition. In September 2011, the team announced a major sponsorship from Spanish oil company Cepsa, which lasted until the end of 2015. From 2016 through 2019, the team partnered with Casio’s Edifice watch brand. For the 2019 season, the presence of driver Alexander Albon helped bring in Thai sponsors Moose Craft Cider and PTT Lubricants, though neither served as the team’s actual fuel or lubricant supplier.