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Toro Rosso launch new car
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01 February 2010 @ 08:30 GMT - Max Moore At five past nine on a cool and sunny Monday morning at the Valencia circuit, our 2010 car, the STR 5 was wheeled into pit lane for its first ever photo call in front of around 60 photographers (and being in Spain, an army of Alguersuari fans watching from the pit lane balcony.) The shutters snapped, the flashes flashed and then the car was pushed back into the garage in preparation for its first ever test session, which gets underway at 10am. One very interested observer came over from the next door garage – a new driver by the name of Michael Schumacher, accompanied by Mercedes boss, Norbert Haug. - The STR5 has been designed and built to conform to the technical regulations which apply this year. Although the changes are not as significant as those introduced twelve months ago, they are important enough to have had a major impact on the philosophy of the car. Possibly the biggest difference stems from the fact that the 2010 car has been designed to make the most of running a double diffuser, whereas in 2009, the car had to be adapted mid-season to make use of this device. Another unusual feature of the new rules is that the introduction of a narrower front tyre was originally conceived as part of a move to facilitate overtaking, in conjunction with the KERS system, which all teams have actually agreed to leave on the shelf this season. Understanding how the new tyres work – the rears also feature a different construction – will be one of the main tasks undertaken in February testing. Also significant in defining the shape of the car is the ban on refuelling, which requires a much larger fuel cell. This has led to STR5 being longer than its predecessor. Scuderia Toro Rosso has undergone a recent and rapid expansion of its design team and its wind tunnel in Bicester is also a relatively new tool. These two factors mean the overall design of STR5 could be seen as conservative, given that getting a new workforce to operate as a team and validating and learning to trust wind tunnel data is not the work of a moment. The extra fuel load has not just impacted on the shape of the car, as the additional weight has meant a reappraisal of the suspension and braking, as well as other areas. For the fourth consecutive year, the Toro is powered by the Cavallino, as we continue to use the Ferrari 056 V8 engine. With engine development strictly limited, winter work on the V8 has focussed on reliability and fuel consumption, the latter particularly significant this year, with the refuelling ban. |
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