Toro Rosso’s lacklustre second half of the season: the Ferrari engine one of the causes?
Currently in 7th place in the Constructors' Championship, with 47 points on the scoreboard, Red Bull's Junior team seems to be doing poorly this season. It will have to keep a close eye on its exhausts, as the Haas team is still eyeing up its position...
The Italian team was established on the foundations of the Minardi team at the end of 2005. It is best known for being the talent scout for Red Bull’s pipeline, similar to Sebastian Vettel, a four-time world champion who claimed his first victory in a Toro Rosso in 2008 at Monza.
The proof, if any, that the small team has already been capable of having a single-seater that can be at the front of the grid, under certain conditions.
More recently, Max Verstappen gave Toro Rosso a fourth place in 2015 in Hungary; and a fifth place in qualifying, this time in Spain. That year, Toro Rosso finished 7th in the championship with a total of 67 points.
This season, Carlos Sainz managed to secure a 6th place finish at the Spanish Grand Prix.
But things have changed. Above all, the lack of performance of the little Italian is surprising, and this has been the case since the German Grand Prix held in July. It now seems to be constantly struggling in the second half of the grid, as illustrated by the 13th (Kvyat) and 17th place (Sainz) achieved by its two drivers two weeks ago in Japan.
It is clear that the developments made since Hockenheim have hardly been conclusive. To the extent that the team has scored only two points in the last six races since that cursed month of July!
To try to explain this sad observation, several causes can be identified. When the new elements were introduced, they did not gain the time they hoped for on the track. Carlos Sainz notes on this:
« (…) we couldn’t see any big differences, only a tenth more or less ».
After several tests with the new and old chassis, notably at the Singapore Grand Prix, the engineers and drivers concluded that the aerodynamic developments introduced were not the cause of their car’s lack of performance. It’s simply that their rivals have improved more, like McLaren Honda, now ahead of them in the standings, 6th with a 15-point lead.
Unfortunately for us, it’s not the fault of the aerodynamic package. (…) It’s just that others have improved their cars more, and we’re not where we would like to be, said Carlos Sainz to Autosport.
Another element that could explain this lack of results and performance is the 2015 engine provided by Ferrari.
Carlos Sainz laments here: « We do not have the power unit capable of exploiting our car. »
The Toro Rosso was one of the fastest cars in the fast corners at the beginning of the season, thanks to a design with strong aerodynamic downforce. On the downside, to compensate for the drag, they need more engine power, which the Ferrari engine is not able to provide.
In parallel to this observation, Marcus Ericsson shared his concern with Sauber, as the team had chosen a Ferrari engine for the 2017 season, which would therefore be from 2016.
He relates on this subject: « When I heard the news, I wondered if it was the best solution? When you see how much Toro Rosso has lost in performance. »
However, with the changes planned for next year, the Sauber team is reassuring about its choice.
It has been known for several months that Toro Rosso will abandon its partnership with its Italian counterpart to return to the French engine manufacturer, Renault, next year with a 2017 engine.
The question now is whether Toro Rosso, with its modest resources, will be able to bounce back in the remaining Grand Prix to at least secure that coveted 7th place in the constructors’ championship, a position it has held (already!) for three seasons.
