Toro Rosso, or perhaps we should say Red Bull Toro Rosso, was another of those who shared the morning before the training sessions in Montmeló to present their new Toro Rosso STR13 along with the Force India. In the presentation we have seen the new technological partners, the leaders of Honda that will now motorize Toro Rosso this season after the engine change and the architects of adding Red Bull before the Toro Rosso name. Honda's demand has been simply a marketing move, since they were ashamed to motorize a team like Toro Rosso after the disaster with McLaren and have asked that it be called that to give it a little more prestige... Honestly, I see it as absurd and I looks like bullshit. People will keep calling the Toro Rosso team and no one will say Red Bull Toro Rosso. And certainly, even if they said so, they are not fooling anyone. The reality is what it is.
As for the design and decoration, the truth is that they follow more or less the same colors as last year, which is very pretty. So again Toro Rosso has achieved a good decoration reminiscent of the can of the energy drink that finances them. In addition, the team has a much larger budget this year due to the economic injection that comes from Honda, with which they can allocate more money to development and do a better job than in previous years. That coupled with a progression from Honda that they are expected to have achieved over the winter could leave the STR13 in a good position to score points this season. Honda needs to forget last year, and surely with wounded pride they have tried even harder than they already did, I hope for a reliable unit with more power. Red Bull will help them and will be very attentive, since next year their contract with Renault could end and having their own motorcyclist is something to rub their hands. Be careful that losing Honda does not go wrong for McLaren!
The rear wing has a curve in its main plane, while the DRS flap looks quite normal. The endplates can be seen very simple, with the typical gills in the upper area and with some cuts in the lower area, but nothing excessively remarkable. In the rear area we see a reduction due to the new Honda engine architecture, which allows the rear area to be cleared more and the gearbox to be shortened. The missing shark fin is replaced with the fin that protrudes from the engine hood, but in the case of Toro Rosso STR13 a triangular peak has been chosen in the rear area instead of the typical straight and vertical cut of other models. Another noteworthy detail of that rear area is on the floor of the single-seater, which has also been worked with some cuts, edges and a box inspired by the one we saw in the McLaren located just in front of the rear wheel to avoid the damaging effects of the tire rear in aerodynamics.
In the Middle area There is not much complexity compared to Mercedes or Ferrari, although we do see an important network of aerodynamic elements. With some stepped barge boards and wings that accompany the sidepods laterally instead of surrounding them as in the case of Ferrari, Mercedes, etc. The sidepods follow a shape that you may remember from a look on the MCL32 due to the shape of the new Honda engine. It has been decided to raise them and outline them with a triangular shape, narrowing the opening as we go down towards the bottom. The intakes are not too small, so it should indicate that the cooling of the Honda engine is more demanding than that of other engines such as the Renault or Ferrari. With this shape, a channel is left under them so that more air passes towards the rear area. If we pay attention to the airbox, here we also have the opening for the air intake that is divided into three, a triangular central area for the engine intake and two side channels to cool other auxiliary systems such as the oil tank of the box. gearbox and intercooler. The shape is very rounded, and of a normal size.
La front suspension follows the same philosophy as last year, that is, they have copied the Mercedes design. The upper trapeze divided and raised as we see in the car of the German brand. Last year the whole car worked quite well for them, and this year they have not changed the concept enormously, so they should go well in 2018 as well. As for the front wing, it follows a design similar to the one that ended last season, complex and with a fairly large wing. The front wing mounts catch the wing in a very forward position. In the nose you can see the typical nose that already appeared last year to let more air pass to the rear area, adapting to the new regulations of the low nose imposed by the FIA, and in this case we can see the slot for the S -Duct that will have a suction effect through the slot under the nose to accelerate the flow of air that passes under the front wing.
calls a lot attention some small profiles that seem to come out of the sides of the nose and can be seen quite well in the previous image. We have not seen those saw-shaped profiles in any other car this season, but they do not come from the nose but from the turning vanes that are under the nose. And in that area another thing can also be seen, and that is that the supports or canards where the television cameras are integrated on the sides of the nose, in the case of the STR13 they appear separated from the nose, fixed on blue supports that protrude from the nose to advance your position a little. The brake cooling openings can also be seen in the above photo and are quite narrow, in the style of those seen on this year's Mercedes or last year's McLaren MCL32. In addition, these ducts are accompanied by a blower hub as can be seen on the front rim, minimizing drag as we have already explained in other articles.
Conclusion, we will have to wait to see the performance that the Honda guys have achieved. Last year was a disastrous season but it seems that by the end of the season they had ironed out a lot of the reliability issues and got some more power. This year they have not had to change the architecture of the engine as they have done in the previous three seasons with McLaren, something that has weighed them down a lot. Toro Rosso hasn't sinned in the past of having high-drag chassis, and it did well on low-load circuits, so if the Honda engine doesn't make too much horsepower, it could have a good symbiosis. But if they have got a decent enough engine, the chassis doesn't seem bad at all, and they could be ahead of Haas and Sauber or fighting with them, although the drivers they have I don't see them up to the task...