2017 season

The 2017 Formula 1 World Championship featured a large number of changes to the technical regulations, some aimed at reducing lap times by 4 seconds. The silhouette of the cars changed, becoming wider with an overall width of 2 metres (as in 1997).

The front wing became longer and went back to being 1.8m and with an arrow-shaped profile. The tyres also got bigger to ensure maximum traction: the front tyres increased in width from 245 to 305mm and the rears increased from 325 to 405mm, a 25% increase compared to the previous ones. The minimum weight of the car increased from 702 to 722kg.

The STR12 was built in Faenza to the new regulations. The biggest change was the return of the Renault hybrid power unit. We also created a beautiful new livery which broke with tradition from previous years. There were now new shades of red and blue, whilst a silver bull from the Red Bull brand adorned the engine cover, replacing the red bull which we had used since we had started out in Formula 1.

Four drivers drove the STR12 that year. The start of the season saw Daniil Kvyat and Carlos Sainz taking to the track. The pair took part in the majority of races that year and the Spaniard scored our best result of the season, finishing fourth in the Singapore GP.

In the last part of the season, with things up in the air on the driver market, we made some changes to our line-up. Pierre Gasly made his F1 debut with us, taking part in the Malaysian and Japanese Grands Prix, replacing Kvyat. In the meantime, Sainz was the man in demand and moved to Renault from the USA Grand Prix onwards. In Austin, the team fielded a new line-up of Daniil Kvyat and the New Zealand rookie Brendan Hartley.

For the last three races of the season, the team decided to try the pairing of Pierre Gasly and Brendan Hartley in order to test their potential for the future. We finished the 2017 Formula 1 season in seventh place on 53 points.