Toro Rosso STR7 – first pictures and video of Toro Rosso’s 2012 F1 car
2012 F1 cars
Toro Rosso revealed their 2012 F1 car, the STR7, in Jerez today.
Toro Rosso have an all-new driver line-up for 2012, with Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne taking over from Jaime Alguersuari and Sebastien Buemi.
Toro Rosso STR7 pictures
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- Toro Rosso STR7, 2012
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- Toro Rosso STR7
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- Jean-Eric Vergne, Daniel Ricciardo, Toro Rosso STR7 launch, 2012
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- Jean-Eric Vergne, Daniel Ricciardo, Toro Rosso STR7 launch, 2012
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- Jean-Eric Vergne, Daniel Ricciardo, Toro Rosso STR7 launch, 2012
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- Toro Rosso STR7, 2012
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- Jean-Eric Vergne, Toro Rosso STR7, 2012
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- Jean-Eric Vergne, Toro Rosso STR7, 2012
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- Jean-Eric Vergne, Toro Rosso STR7, 2012
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- Toro Rosso STR7, 2012
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- Toro Rosso STR7, 2012
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- Toro Rosso STR7, 2012
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- Toro Rosso STR7, 2012
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- Toro Rosso STR7, 2012
More images will be added here
2012 F1 cars
- New HRT F112 seen for the first time in Spain
- New Marussia MR01 breaks cover at Silverstone
- A closer look at the Caterham CT01
- Mercedes W03 officially revealed in Spain
- Picture: Mercedes W03 spied at Silverstone
- Mercedes W03 spotted testing at Silverstone
- Williams FW34 launch: First pictures of their 2012 F1 car
- Toro Rosso STR7 – first pictures and video of Toro Rosso’s 2012 F1 car
- Red Bull RB8 launch – first pictures and video of Red Bull’s 2012 F1 car
- Sauber C31 launch – first pictures and video of Sauber’s 2012 F1 car
Browse all 2012 F1 cars articles
Image © Red Bull/Getty images
Dan Thorn (@dan-thorn) said on 6th February 2012, 16:50
Wow, that’s gorgeous! Best looking car so far in my opinion. It almost makes the stepped nose blend in with the rest of the design. Livery still looks amazing too. I love it!
Dan Thorn (@dan-thorn) said on 6th February 2012, 17:08
In fact, I think the release this car has been the trigger point for me. Before it didn’t really feel like the season had begun, but now I’m truly excited for it to begin!
bpacman (@bpacman) said on 7th February 2012, 9:24
@Dan-thorn Completely agree – it looks stunning in this shot in particular.
damonsmedley (@damonsmedley) said on 6th February 2012, 16:52
Not a bad shape at all! I like it!
I’m not liking the direction their livery is going in, however. The gold endplates look sickly, and the Cepsa branding just doesn’t look right.
OK, the marathon of car launches is finally over! It’s 4 AM, I think it’s bed time. :P
Andi McLaren said on 6th February 2012, 16:52
One of the most beautiful cars of 2012 . Great Livery.
sam3110 (@sam3110) said on 6th February 2012, 16:52
Always loved Toro Rosso’s cars, the more red and gold they use, the better the car gets
Gambisk said on 6th February 2012, 16:55
every year I hope torro rosso will change and use the diet red bull colours instead , nice looking car all the same
Joey-Poey (@joey-poey) said on 6th February 2012, 18:50
I’m with you on wishing they’d set themselves apart. It’ll continue to feel like Red Bull Jr. and not a separate team until they really brand themselves more distinctly different.
ivz (@ivz) said on 6th February 2012, 23:08
Or RBR take on the colours of the can of drink, and leave Toro Rosso with this? As its much better than the what RBR have at the moment.
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner) said on 7th February 2012, 10:25
@joey-poey They are RBR Jr. though. That much was proven when they had finished ‘developing’ Alguersuari and Buemi.
Randy (@randy) said on 6th February 2012, 16:55
Wow, really unique heavily undercutted sidepods. They look like rockets bolted to the sides of the car. I like them!
PT (@pt) said on 7th February 2012, 18:24
Yeah, rockets or missiles on the sides. I quite like the red and gold colour schemes that have appeared on the Toro Rosso. For me Cepsa looks great on the rear wing and its endplates as does the Falcon Private Bank colours on the front wing endplates.
ECWDanSelby (@ecwdanselby) said on 6th February 2012, 16:57
With all the paint stripped off, the STR6 was my favourite looking car of 2011.
This year, it’s looking like the STR7 will be the looker of 2012, too!
djdaveyp85 (@djdaveyp87) said on 6th February 2012, 16:59
Damn that nose is skinny. Don’t think I would like to get run over by that!
GARY ALLEN said on 6th February 2012, 17:03
Concerns about the shape and right angle cockpit impacts. Blade shapes slice easier than blunt ends. Is there any FIA data on that type of testing?
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine) said on 6th February 2012, 17:07
Yes, it’s exactly why the new lower nose regulations have been introduced this year – because last year some noses were higher than the cockpit anti-intrusion panels.
See: How the 2012 rules will influence F1 car design
GARY ALLEN said on 6th February 2012, 22:17
Thanks for that info. The noses seem so thin compared to the past. Worried about the forces generated during an impact and how those forces would react to other parts of the car.
djdaveyp85 (@djdaveyp87) said on 6th February 2012, 17:09
That nose will disintegrate quite quickly upon impact, it is an energy dispersing part of the car. The Side impact protection is very solid and is designed to adsorb the impact by bending. The Side impact would always win that battle.
xlplbx said on 6th February 2012, 17:02
Might sound like a stupid question, but…
Y is it that all the cars up till now have the steeped nose, except MCLAREN? :S
Dan Thorn (@dan-thorn) said on 6th February 2012, 17:05
McLaren have a lower chassis than the other teams, meaning they don’t have to have the abrupt step between the bulkhead and the nose with the other teams have to accommodate the new regulations.
Nigelstash (@nigelstash) said on 6th February 2012, 18:03
I hope their lower chassis concept is a good idea. It would be sad to see them back in the midfield after a big miscalculation – it does seem that every other team is going the same way and I can’t believe they are all wrong, especially red bull. Anyone got any deeper explanation of the pros and cons of these different concepts?
Aldoid said on 6th February 2012, 19:05
I’m not qualified to comment on the pros & cons of each, but the McLaren shape seems to be more of an evolution of last year’s concept. Their nose was by far the lowest last year & it worked quite well. The fact that they’re the only team running a conventional nose doesn’t worry me: they were the only team running u-shaped side pods last season too, & that concept worked great too. I think they’ll have an easier time coming to grips with it than they would with a clean sheet design. It appears that most designs on the grid so far are evolutions of last season’s concepts (Ferrari being the glaring exception, of course… but of all the top teams, they were probably the most disappointed with their car’s performance last season: hence the massive redesign), which seems logical to me, but I’m no expert.
ivz (@ivz) said on 6th February 2012, 23:12
You would think that the McLaren would have less drag also?
Aldoid said on 7th February 2012, 0:23
It’s possible. The design does appear to be more cohesive. I also read over @ Scarbs that the low nose & chassis on the McLaren gives it a lower center of gravity, which allows for less extreme suspension geometry, & a lower COG should translate to better handling dynamics overall. If it all works according to plan it might lead to better wear on the front tires as well (I’m guessing they might even be able to run less aggressive camber & still have good front end grip… but that’s just me making a semi-educated guess).
Based on how good they were last season with the low nose, & the fact that they’ve elected not to do a complete rehash, I’m inclined to think they’ve got a good design that they’re comfortable with. As I remember it, the MP4-26 had plenty of front grip & good turn-in. If they’ve managed to dial out the porpoising at the top end, it might prove to be even better this time around. A good front end alone doesn’t make a good car though, so I’m hoping the MP4-27 is the complete package. They’ll need it because you can be sure the Red Bull won’t be slow.
Jezson (@jezson) said on 6th February 2012, 17:04
Sooo… last years car with a screwed up nose, then? :P
matt90 (@matt90) said on 6th February 2012, 17:05
Generally I think it’s fairly nice, but I don’t agree that it’s the best looking car so far- that nose is too lumpy and then horribly flat at the front. I do like those sidepods though. Those rear wing endplates should not be block red, as it just draws attention to how large they are.
Steph (@) said on 6th February 2012, 17:15
I still don’t like the gold splodges and if they were actually in a thought out design I’d like them, I’m not a fan of the paintwork on the rear wing either but this is still a very pretty car.
Richard F150 - I am not a truck said on 6th February 2012, 17:17
Nice – now if they could only do something with the paintwork to allow me to tell the difference between it and the RB8 during the race.
Randy (@randy) said on 6th February 2012, 17:24
The good car differentiator is the “Red Bull” sign on the sidepods of both cars. It’s much bigger on Red Bull than on Toro Rosso.
Diogenes said on 6th February 2012, 17:42
Bright Yellow on the nose and behind the driver’s head on the Red Bull. Toro Rosso has Gold nose and Blue airbox.
nackavich (@nackavich) said on 7th February 2012, 0:13
Well, if the car is surrounded by Williams’, Force Indias and Saubers, it’s a Toro Rosso.
If its out in front surrounded by no one, it’s a Red Bull!
ECWDanSelby (@ecwdanselby) said on 6th February 2012, 17:23
I always thought it’d look pretty cool if they changed the dark blue to a black, myself.
Fixy (@fixy) said on 6th February 2012, 17:32
The car looks great – again, apart from the nose – as it’s a 2011-looking car (the airbox is similar to the 150° Italia’s one). The livery is great as always, the gold could be better placed but the rear wing looks out of place.