Scuderia Toro Rosso

The predecessor of Scuderia AlphaTauri

Toro Rosso, Red Bull's School in Faenza

Red Bull turned Minardi into its junior team, and a young Sebastian Vettel gave it an unexpected victory at Monza in 2008.

Scuderia Toro Rosso was created when Paul Stoddart sold the Minardi team to Dietrich Mateschitz, owner of Red Bull, at the end of 2005. Red Bull took control on 1 November 2005 and renamed the team, choosing Italian for Red Bull to honor its home in Faenza, where it stayed. Former driver Gerhard Berger held half the team for its first seasons, until Red Bull bought his share back in November 2008. Franz Tost ran it throughout.

The purpose was clear from the start: Toro Rosso was a junior team, where Red Bull could prepare promising drivers for its senior outfit. It made its debut at the 2006 Bahrain Grand Prix with Cosworth engines, then ran Ferrari engines from 2007 to 2013, Renault and Ferrari engines in the years after, and Honda engines in 2018 and 2019.

Its finest day came at the 2008 Italian Grand Prix. Sebastian Vettel, then 21, started from pole position at Monza and won, giving the team its first podium, its only pole and its only victory. Vettel later moved up to Red Bull Racing and became champion, as did Max Verstappen, who in 2015 became the youngest driver ever to start a Formula One race when he lined up for Toro Rosso in Australia. Daniel Ricciardo, Carlos Sainz Jr. and Pierre Gasly also passed through.

The team's last season under the name, 2019, was among its best, with Daniil Kvyat third in Germany and Gasly second in Brazil, and sixth place in the constructors' standings. In 2020 it became Scuderia AlphaTauri to promote Red Bull's fashion label. As Toro Rosso it started 268 World Championship races, scored three podiums and won once.

Drivers

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