With the 2016 Formula One season now firmly behind us, the team designers, engineers and productions staff, are already knee deep in their 2017 challengers and Toro Rosso is no exception.
The Faenza based squad's Technical Director James Key has openly discussed the new car, the STR12 and how their 2017 programme will be aided by a closer working partnership between them and their sister team, Red Bull Racing, something that is completely allowed in the current regulations…
“There are several areas nowadays where it's acceptable to run the same part or for one team to design a bit and allow the other team to use it and so on, predominantly on power unit-related topics, but it also stretches to gearbox and suspension as well,” he explained. “That's all good. It means we can pool our resources a bit more and have better synergies in those areas and certainly, both teams are looking to see what opportunities there are.”
“The problem with new regulations of course is you've got nothing to discuss because you've got to go through the whole design process. In 2017 therefore, there will not be that many opportunities for synergies. “
“In the second year of these regs, once you've got bits that work within that set of regulations, then it opens up many more, so 2018 will be a better opportunity. Having said that, having the same engine helps. It draws together a huge amount of commonality in certain areas on the power train side.”
