2019 Review – Toro Rosso: The Best Season in the Team’s History!
The end of the year is approaching, and it is time to analyze the teams' performances in 2019. Motors Inside therefore offers you a look back at Toro Rosso's season, which managed to hold its own against McLaren and Renault despite having a much smaller budget.
After an encouraging start with the Honda engine, 2019 did not necessarily promise to be better. In fact, the parent team had also decided to switch to the Japanese power unit, and Formula 1 observers feared that the Italian team would become more than ever before Red Bull’s testing ground.
A season that was set to be even more complicated knowing that Toro Rosso’s technical director, James Key, had left the Faenza team to join McLaren.
And yet 2019 was the best season in Toro Rosso’s history. With 85 points, 2 podiums, and 14 point finishes out of 21 races, Franz Tost’s team surpassed all expectations.
The reason? To take advantage of his competitors’ mistakes to fill his sack with as many points as possible. Apart from a botched double stop in Shanghai, it’s hard to blame Toro Rosso for anything else.
Mechanical problems have been relatively rare unlike its main rival, Renault. Only an oil leak in Italy ended Daniil Kvyat’s race.
Good results also made possible by a close partnership with Red Bull. The two teams share the same rear suspension.
The task was even more complicated for Toro Rosso due to the steering wheel swap between Alexander Albon and Pierre Gasly during the winter break. The Faenza-based team was forced to mold a new seat for the Norman, in addition to making developments in the second half of the season to continue fighting in an ever-tighter midfield.
What a great 2019 season to end Toro Rosso, which will become AlphaTauri from 2020. A new name that refers to the clothing line of the Austrian brand.
