The Toro Rosso STR4 was a Formula One car which Scuderia Toro Rosso used in the 2009 Formula One season. The car was revealed to be a Red Bull RB5 with a 2008-spec Ferrari 056 engine in Barcelona on March 9, 2009. It was revealed before the testing session.[1]

Toro Rosso STR4
CategoryFormula One
ConstructorToro Rosso
Designer(s)Adrian Newey (Chief Technical Officer)
Geoff Willis (Technical Director)
Rob Marshall (Chief Designer)
Peter Prodromou (Head of Aerodynamics)
PredecessorToro Rosso STR3
SuccessorToro Rosso STR5
Technical specifications
Chassiscarbon-fibre and honeycomb composite structure
Suspension (front)cast titanium uprights, pushrods, carbon-fibre upper and lower wishbones
Suspension (rear)cast titanium uprights, pullrods, carbon-fibre upper and lower wishbones
EngineFerrari 056 (2008-spec) 2398cc V8 18,000 RPM Limited
Transmission7-speed sequential
FuelShell
TyresBridgestone
Competition history
Notable entrantsScuderia Toro Rosso
Notable drivers11. France Sébastien Bourdais
11. Spain Jaime Alguersuari
12. Switzerland Sébastien Buemi
Debut2009 Australian Grand Prix
Last event2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
RacesWinsPodiumsPolesF/Laps
170000

The Toro Rosso STR4 was the last-ever Toro Rosso car to be built by its senior sister team Red Bull Racing, as from the 2010 season onwards Toro Rosso switched to in-house designed cars until the Scuderia AlphaTauri era.

Competition history

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The STR4 was driven by Sébastien Bourdais and Sébastien Buemi for the first half of the season. Jaime Alguersuari replaced Bourdais from the Hungarian Grand Prix onwards.

Sébastien Buemi

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Buemi during the Singapore Grand Prix

Buemi scored 7th place on his debut race at the 2009 Australian Grand Prix. His teammate Sebastian Bourdais also scored points that race.[2] He went on to finish 8th in China, before finishing 7th and 8th in the final two races in Brazil and Abu Dhabi.[3][4][5]

Sébastien Bourdais

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Bourdais scored an 8th place at the 2009 Australian Grand Prix. His teammate Sébastien Buemi also scored points that race. However Bourdais had poor results during the 2008 season, scoring only 4 points unlike his 2008 teammate Sebastian Vettel who scored 35 and a race win in Monza. At the 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix, he was replaced by Jaime Alguersuari following a similar season of poor results, having scored only 2 points after the German Grand Prix before he was fired.

Jaime Alguersuari

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Alguersuari made his debut at the Hungarian Grand Prix as his predecessor Sébastien Bourdais was replaced following a string of poor results.[6] However he only managed to finish 3 races out of the 8 he raced in, with a best result of 14th in the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Complete Formula One results

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(key) (results in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant Engine Tyres Drivers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Points WCC
2009 Scuderia Toro Rosso Ferrari 056 V8 B AUS MAL CHN BHR ESP MON TUR GBR GER HUN EUR BEL ITA SIN JPN BRA ABU 8 10th
  Sébastien Bourdais 8 10 11 13 Ret 8 18 Ret Ret
  Jaime Alguersuari 15 16 Ret Ret Ret Ret 14 Ret
  Sébastien Buemi 7 16 8 17 Ret Ret 15 18 16 16 Ret 12 13 1 Ret Ret 7 8

Driver failed to finish, but was classified as they had completed >90% of the race distance.

  • ^1 – Sébastien Buemi followed the safety car to the pit lane on the final lap of the Italian Grand Prix, therefore he was not considered to have finished the race. He was classified as he had driven 90% of the winner's race distance.

References

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  1. ^ "Toro Rosso face uphill struggle, claims team principal". The Guardian. 9 March 2009. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
  2. ^ Farah, Yoosof (29 March 2009). "Action From the 2009 Australian Grand Prix as Jenson Button Seals Dream Debut". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
  3. ^ SS, Vikas (23 April 2009). "F1 Race Review: Chinese GP 2009". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
  4. ^ Rajagopal, Ravikumar (19 October 2009). "Brazilian GP Review: Button and Brawn Wins the 2009 Championships!". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
  5. ^ "ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX - RACE RESULT". Formula 1. 1 November 2009. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
  6. ^ "Toro Rosso replace Sébastien Bourdais with teenage Jaime Alguersuari". The Guardian. 13 July 2009. Retrieved 4 June 2023.