The Toro Rosso STR12 was the car with which the Faenza team took part in the 2017 Formula 1 World Championship. The livery broke tradition with the past: an unprecedented colour scheme, which included blue, red and silver, took the place of the now famous red bull airbrushed on the engine cover. The livery was immediately appreciated by fans and those in the sport and recognised by many as the most beautiful on the grid.

The technical sheet

After running the 2016 season with the Ferrari power unit, the team switched to Renault with the STR12. The car was 5.2 metres long, 2 metres wide and 95 centimetres high, with a total weight of 728 kg. The gearbox was entirely designed and manufactured in Faenza, from a single piece of carbon fibre.

The gearbox was 8-speed (plus reverse) sequential, hydraulically controlled, supplied by Red Bull Technology. As for the suspension, as usual it had upper and lower arms in carbon fibre, with pushrods at the front and pullrods at the rear, with torsion bar shock absorbers and anti-roll bars.

The braking system was supplied by Brembo, while the brake-by-wire was designed by Toro Rosso engineers.

STR12 results

During the 2017 World Championship, four drivers raced at the wheel of the STR12: Daniil Kvyat and Carlos Sainz took part in most of the races, with the Spaniard getting the best result of the season: fourth place at the Singapore Grand Prix.

In the last races of the season, the switchover among the drivers began: the Frenchman Pierre Gasly made his Formula 1 debut at the Malaysian GP and also raced in Japan, replacing Daniil Kvyat. Sainz moved to Renault and at the United States GP Daniil Kvyat and New Zealander rookie Brendon Hartley stepped into the car. In the last three races of the season – Mexico, Brazil and Abu Dhabi – Pierre Gasly and Brendon Hartley were at the wheel of the Toro Rosso STR12. The two were then confirmed as drivers for the following season.

Toro Rosso once again finished seventh in the World Championship on 53 points.