Scuderia Toro Rosso STR12 for 2017 season unveiled

Scuderia Toro Rosso STR12 Car from Carlos Sainz is seen during a studio photo shooting in Faenza, Italy on February, 2017 // Guido De Bortoli / Red Bull Content Pool // P-20170226-00506 // Usage for editorial use only // Please go to www.redbullcontentpool.com for further information. //

Scuderia Toro Rosso has revealed their contender for the 2017 Formula 1 season, the STR12 – this time sporting striking blue-and-red livery, a sea change from the previous design, a derivative of sister team Red Bull Racing. The team returns to Renault engines for power, after the 2016 season with Ferrari powerplants under the skin.

Carlos Sainz and Daniil Kvyat make up the driver roster at the Faenza, Italy-based team, with the car itself designed by technical director James Key, also sporting the shark fin atop the engine cover as seen on most 2017 F1 cars thus far.

As with the rest of the 2017-season Formula 1 cars, the STR12 comes in line with this year’s regulations which dictate wider front and rear tyres, while the front wing is now wider and the rear wing now lower. “Nothing has been carried over (from last year’s car), it’s a clean sheet of paper,” Key said.

“The front half (of the car) is completely new, with a swept front wing and a lot more freedom around the front of the floor, which means you can generate more downforce. There is also more freedom at the rear: you have a wider floor, a higher diffuser, the diffuser starts earlier and the rear wing is wider and lower,” said Toro Rosso head of aerodynamics Brendan Gilhome.

“The philosophy for some of the car is something that we can take across from last year, but other areas require a complete re-think. The front wing position and shape has changed as well as all of the front floor. There is a lot more opportunity to explore different ideas and explore concepts that you hadn’t been allowed in the past,” Gilhome continued.

Carlos Sainz of Spain and Scuderia Toro Rosso drives the STR12 in Misano, Italy on February 22, 2017

With past frustrations on the powerplant side, Toro Rosso is hopeful for a resurgence into better results with the Renault units this year.

“If you look back at the last three years, through unfortunate circumstances we’ve always had a deficit on the power unit side. That has affected our performance and the number of points we’ve scored. That has been frustrating because the aero guys have done a fantastic job with the chassis and we’ve improved a lot in other areas, operationally and in terms of our understanding of the tyres,” Key explained.

“With the great turnaround we saw from Renault last year and a different approach and momentum that they’ve got now, hopefully this will be the best power unit we’ve ever hard in the hybrid era. For once we will have something that is much more competitive. We’ve also got driver continuity, which is really important when you go from one set of regs to another,” he added.

Sainz gets his first stint behind the wheel of the STR12 today, while teammate Kvyat takes his turn in the 2017 car tomorrow. Scuderia Toro Rosso managed a seventh placing in the constructors’ championship for the 2016 season, with Sainz in 12th and Kvyat in 14th in the drivers’ championship.

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