Toro Rosso reveals cautious car for 2013

Comparison between Toro Rosso STR7 VS STR8

Toro Rosso on Monday unveiled a cautious evolution of its 2012 car for Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne to race this season.

With a FIA-sanctioned ‘vanity panel’ on the front nose, the new STR8 no longer features the ‘double floor’ of 2012, and the exhaust is notably conventional.

“I just wanted to create a sound base rather than get bogged down in details,” technical director James Key, formerly of Sauber, was quoted by Speed Week.

Referring to the conventional exhaust, the Briton added: “I don’t mean that this area is unimportant, I just don’t want us to be too focused in one area and forget the big picture.”

After the launch in the Jerez pitlane ahead of Tuesday’s test action, Key continued: “We now have a starting point on which to build upon, step by step.”

With the 2012 STR7, featuring innovative undercut sidepods or ‘double floor’, Faenza based Toro Rosso finished last year’s championship ahead only of the three backmarker teams.

In 2013, the Red Bull-owned team wants to finish sixth.

So, explaining why he has scrapped the ‘double floor’, Key is quoted by Auto Motor und Sport: “I would not say that this concept was totally wrong.

“But it was not delivering on what the engineers initially promised, and the development potential was limited.”

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