2007 Toro Rosso STR2

The Toro Rosso STR2 is the car with which the Scuderia Toro Rosso team competed in the 2007 Formula One season. It was unveiled on February 13, 2007 at the Circuit de Catalunya. The car is, controversially, a variant of the Red Bull RB3 chassis (although powered by a Ferrari instead of a Renault engine). It was initially driven by Vitantonio Liuzzi and Scott Speed, until Speed was replaced by Sebastian Vettel at the Hungaroring for the remainder of the season. The car in a modified form was also used to compete in the first four races of the 2008 Formula One season. The modified car was driven by Sébastien Bourdais, four-consecutive-time Champ Car winner, and Vettel.

The team’s results during the season were generally poor compared to its rivals. For the first half of the season, the STR2 did not reach the level of competitiveness expected, especially when compared to the ‘sister’ Red Bull Racing team. The car’s main weakness, which it shared with the RB3, was the new seamless shift gearbox, which frequently failed during races. Results did pick up slightly in the second half of the season, as both Red Bull Racing and Toro Rosso started to find more reliability with the car. A double points finish in China, with Vettel fourth and Liuzzi sixth, gave the team a total of eight world championship points. This gave Toro Rosso a 7th place finish in the Constructors’ Standings after the disqualification of McLaren.

Source: Wikipedia (original)