Toro Rosso unveils STR8 F1 car for 2013 season

Scuderia Toro Rosso today revealed its new F1 car for the 2013 season of the Formula 1 championships in the Jerez de la Frontera pit lane. The wraps were pulled off the STR8 by the current and unchanged driver line-up of Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne.

Daniel Ricciardo: “The 2013 version of me is a more confident person and driver, with more self-belief than last year. I’ve always had the desire and determination to succeed and now I’m ready to reinforce that and let everyone see what I’m all about."

While the drivers are the same, the new car is the work of a changed and strengthened technical team. STR8 is the first car to be designed by a group led by chief designer Luca Furbatto, who joined the company just over a year ago, while the whole project is overseen by James Key, who has been the team’s technical director since last September.

The SRT8 now has proper weight distribution compared to the STR7, and has some aerodynamic enhancements done to it like a much slimmer rear portion. The team also spent time improving the gearbox and suspension to create more downforce for the car. Sidepods and radiator were also positioned lower to improve the car's cooling layout.

"Formula 1 is approaching a new era, specifically in 2014, and, at Toro Rosso, we have already made significant changes to our structure both in terms of manpower and facilities, to be ready for that. We believe the changes made will also help in the short term for this coming season and, combined with the fact that Daniel and Jean-Eric are more experienced, now that they have a season with us under their belts, we start winter testing in a mood of justified optimism.” said Franz Tost, team principal of the Scuderia Toro Rosso Formula One team