Racing Bulls

1. Racing Bulls in brief

Racing Bulls, formerly known as Scuderia AlphaTauri, is a Formula 1 team based in Faenza (Italy) and developed by Red Bull since 2006, first under the name Scuderia Toro Rosso. The Italian outfit is considered Red Bull Racing's Junior Team, through which all its young drivers initially pass, before potentially being promoted to its parent team. If Toro Rosso has already experienced the joys of a pole position and a victory, thanks to Sebastian Vettel during the 2008 Italian Grand Prix, it also experienced success in 2020, under its name AlphaTauri, with Pierre Gasly at Monza too. Since 2024, it has been called Racing Bulls (RB).

The first Racing Bulls single-seater in 2024 © Xavi Bonilla / DPPI

2. The history of Racing Bulls / Scuderia AlphaTauri / Scuderia Toro Rosso

In 2005, Dietrich Mateschitz, the boss of the Red Bull group, seized the opportunity to buy Minardi, which he renamed Scuderia Toro Rosso the following season. The energy drinks group now has two teams within Formula 1, and is developing a program for young drivers at its sister team, Toro Rosso.

The Italian team began its first season with Vitantonio Liuzzi and Scott Speed ​​in the seat, and managed to score its first point in F1 during the United States Grand Prix in Indianapolis.

Vitantonio Liuzzi at Toro Rosso in 2006. © GILLES LEVENT / DPPI

If Red Bull Racing has been powered by Renault since its beginnings in the category, Toro Rosso is equipped with a power unit supplied by Ferrari. The British engineer, Adrian Newey, who had just arrived in the team, managed to modify the chassis of the Italian single-seater to include the transalpine engines. Despite the hesitations at the start of the season from Gerhard Berger, team director and 50% owner of Toro Rosso, Scott Speed ​​is retained. But the poor results of the American driver led the team to part ways with him during the season, and to induct a certain Sebastian Vettel.

In 2008, the German teamed up with the French driver, Sébastien Bourdais, for what promised to be the year of revelation, both for Toro Rosso and for Vettel. The future quadruple world champion achieved the first pole position of his career and that of his team at Monza, before winning the next day, during this Italian Grand Prix. The German driver continues to score points, and interferes, despite himself, in the title race in Brazil, pitting Felipe Massa and Lewis Hamilton against each other. He then found himself in front of the Briton in the final laps, until then deprived of the title, before overtaking a losing Timo Glock in the last corner of the very last round of the season. Toro Rosso is having its best season so far in motorsport's elite, with a sixth place finish in the constructors' race.

Sebastian Vettel (Toro Rosso) made his mark at the 2008 Italian Grand Prix. © GILLES LEVENT / DPPI

If Vettel has left for Red Bull Racing, as the Austrian team's program requires, the Italian team has secured the services of another, Sébastien, Buemi this time. The single-seater developed that year, however, was not up to par with its predecessor, and the Franco-Swiss duo was unable to build on the good results of 2008. Bourdais was dismissed during the season, Toro Rosso finished tenth. and last place in the championship.

The Buemi-Alguesuari duo replaces the two friends in 2010, but they are preparing to experience two rather mixed seasons, where points opportunities will be rarer than in the past. Despite everything, the team climbed two places at the end of the 2011 season, and found itself eighth among the constructors. In 2012, Toro Rosso made a clean sweep of the past and invested in two new in-house drivers: the Australian Daniel Ricciardo, and the French driver Jean-Eric Vergne. The two drivers regularly score points, but fail to do better than the previous duo. Toro Rosso returned to ninth place among the constructors, but set off again to attack the championship with Vergne and Ricciardo within the team.

Jean-Eric Vergne and Daniel Ricciardo teamed up at Toro Rosso for two seasons. © JEAN MICHEL LE MEUR / DPPI

If the French driver finished ahead of his teammate during the previous season, Daniel Ricciardo will take the upper hand in 2013, thanks to a rather profitable consistency. The Australian driver even learned during the season of his tenure with Red Bull Racing for 2014, replacing Mark Webber who had retired. At the end of the championship, Toro Rosso returned to eighth place in the standings, and secured the services of Daniil Kvyat, another driver from the Austrian fold, who had just won the GP3 Series title. Despite a less successful balance sheet than the previous year, Toro Rosso climbed a new position and finished seventh. Despite the outrageous domination of Jean-Eric Vergne in his duel between him and Kvyat, it was the latter who was chosen in 2015 to replace Sebastian Vettel, who had left for Ferrari.

As is often the case, Toro Rosso renews its entire team and inducts two new drivers from the Austrian team: the Spaniard Carlos Sainz Jr, son of the world rally champion, and a certain Max Verstappen, barely seventeen years old. . The surprise start of the Dutchman is surprising, this is only his third season in single-seaters. But very quickly, Verstappen stood out and regularly entered the points, twice taking fourth place in a Grand Prix (Hungary and United States). At the end of the season, Max Verstappen scored 49 of the 67 points for his team, which retained its seventh place in the championship.

Max Verstappen began his F1 career with Toro Rosso at the age of 17. © Florent Gooden / DPPI

While Sainz and Verstappen retained their seats in 2016, Kvyat's difficult start to the season at Red Bull prompted the Austrian team to promote the young Dutchman, while the Russian driver moved in the opposite direction. Carlos Sainz proved the more consistent of the two drivers, allowing his team to maintain its championship position for the third consecutive season. The 2017 season began much like the previous one, with points scored at almost every Grand Prix. Although Toro Rosso briefly held fifth place in the championship, a more challenging second half of the season for both drivers saw them drop back to seventh. With four Grands Prix remaining, Carlos Sainz was rumored to be joining Renault, while Daniil Kvyat, struggling for form, was dismissed after the United States Grand Prix.

Toro Rosso returns with two new drivers to finish the season: Brandon Hartley and, most notably, Pierre Gasly. This same duo also starts the 2018 season with the Italian team. With the reliability of Renault engines often failing them, the Red Bull group convinces Honda to supply power to its four cars for the next three years. In his first full season in Formula 1, Pierre Gasly demonstrates impressive maturity and regularly outperformes his teammate on the track.

In the heart of summer, his strong results earned him a seat at Red Bull starting in 2019, with Toro Rosso officially announcing the return of Daniil Kvyat in response. However, the Italian team regressed as the season progressed, ultimately finishing ninth in the constructors' championship, a first since 2012. Brandon Hartley was not retained at the end of the season, while Alexander Albon was promoted. Daniil Kvyat's return was punctuated by a surprise podium finish at the end of a rainy German Grand Prix – Toro Rosso's first podium in nearly eleven years. Meanwhile, Alexander Albon impressed with his consistency and was even promoted to Red Bull at the summer break, replacing a struggling Pierre Gasly, who moved in the opposite direction.

Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso) remembered everyone fondly at the 2019 German GP / © Florent Gooden / DPPI

The return of the French driver, despite his great disappointment, allowed the Italian team to end the season with a bang, with the Normand's second place during the Brazilian Grand Prix, at the cost of a memorable battle with Lewis Hamilton, in the last lap of the race.

Pierre Gasly (Toro Rosso) secures a superb 2nd place at the 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix. © Antonin Vincent / DPPI

For its last year under the Toro Rosso name, the Italian team finished sixth in the championship, its best result since 2008. The Italian team is now called Scuderia AlphaTauri, which is none other than a brand of ready-to-wear clothing. Austrian group. It was at the heart of this first season that Pierre Gasly won his prestigious victory at Monza, the second for the Faenza-based team and the first for a French driver since Oliver Panis' success in Monaco in 1996. As in 2008 with Vettel, Gasly climbed to the highest step of the podium at Monza, a few kilometers from the AlphaTauri base camp. At the end of the championship, where the Italian team reached the 100 points mark for the first time (107), Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda was announced as the starter in place of Daniil Kvyat, under the leadership of the engine manufacturer Honda.

Historic victory for Pierre Gasly and AlphaTauri at Monza in 2020. © Antonin Vincent / DPPI

The team starts again in 2021 on the same basis as the previous season, with an imperial Pierre Gasly in qualifying in particular. The Norman even won a new podium for AlphaTauri, in Baku, the third of his career in the space of three seasons. Thanks to the interesting performances of Yuki Tsunoda in the second half of the season, the Italian team equaled its best result in the championship, with a sixth place.

The revolution that Formula 1 is experiencing in 2022, however, does not seem to benefit AlphaTauri, which marks a halt in its progress, like Pierre Gasly in difficulty and regularly in competition with his teammate, Yuki Tsunoda. Initially renewed for 2023, the Frenchman is finally preparing to set sail for the team Alpine, Red Bull having agreed to release him a year before the end of his contract. His Japanese teammate is extended for a 3rd season.

Gasly and Tsunoda in 2022. © Xavi Bonilla / DPPI

In 2023, Tsunoda first teams up with Dutchman Nyck de Vries, who impressed the gallery during his stint at the 2022 Italian GP with Williams before being replaced by Daniel Ricciardo from the Hungarian Grand Prix. Injured in the hand after a crash during FP2 of the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix. It is Liam Lawson who takes over the interim until the United States Grand Prix where the Australian makes his return.

Daniel Ricciardo in the AT04 in Abu Dhabi in 2023. © Florent Gooden / DPPI

While Ricciardo had re-signed with his newly-named Racing Bulls team, his poor performances led to his contract being terminated after the Singapore Grand Prix. He was replaced by Liam Lawson for the remaining six races. Tsunoda meanwhile pocketed 30 of the team's 46 points in the hope of getting noticed by the parent company for the following year, to no avail.

In 2025, Sergio Pérez, who was expected to be retained, ultimately left Formula 1. This opened a door for Yuki Tsunoda, who had been with Racing Bulls since 2021 and hoped to move up to the main team. However, it was Liam Lawson, his rookie teammate, brought in to replace Daniel Ricciardo, who was offered the second Red Bull seat. Yuki Tsunoda therefore remained in his seat, and Isack Hadjar joined the Italian team for the 2025 season. However, after only two races, the Japanese driver was promoted to Milton Keynes, and Liam Lawson went the other way, returning to the sister team.

The final Racing Bulls driver lineup for 2025 will therefore consist of Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar. © Red Bull Content Pool

In 2026, Liam Lawson still represents Racing Bulls, now partnered with Arvid Linblad, the only rookie on the grid, while Isack Hadjar takes his former Japanese teammate's place at Red Bull. The team also adopts a new engine to comply with the new regulations. Still affiliated with Red Bull, it is no longer powered by Honda, which now supplies Aston Martin, and instead uses the Red Bull Ford Powertrains engine, developed by the parent team in collaboration with Ford.

3. Official Racing Bulls drivers

In 2026, Liam Lawson competes in his first full-time season for Racing Bulls, alongside Arvid Linblad, who is making his debut in the top category.

Rookie Arvid Lindblad. © Fabrizio Boldoni / DPPI

4. AUTOhebdo's opinion on Racing Bulls

Long in the shadow of Red Bull, Scuderia AlphaTauri proclaims its independence in many respects and seems to take off with the seasons. As evidenced by Pierre Gasly's victory during the 2020 Italian Grand Prix, the Italian team is capable of aiming for the top of the table when everything aligns. But since the departure of Pierre Gasly, the Faenza team has experienced more difficulties, and only occasionally fights for points.

The new regulations certainly haven't helped the team maintain its momentum from the late 2010s, and it seems to be suffering far more than its Red Bull counterpart. But that's precisely the problem with this team, which will never truly be able to fight for victory, at least not as long as it remains under Austrian ownership. Since 2024, Racing Bulls has reverted to its original purpose: a support team for Red Bull and a driver development program, even though recently it has seemed increasingly competitive on the track, not so far behind its sister team, which is experiencing some difficulties at the start of the season.

5. Find out more about Scuderia AlphaTauri / Scuderia Toro Rosso