The Toro Rosso STR11 is a

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

racing car Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including ...

Scuderia Toro Rosso Scuderia Toro Rosso SpA (; ), commonly known as Toro Rosso or by its abbreviation STR, was an Italian Formula One constructor. It was one of two Formula One constructors owned by Austrian conglomerate company Red Bull, the other being Red B ...

to compete in the

2016 Formula One season The 2016 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 70th season of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile ( FIA)'s Formula One motor racing. It featured the 67th Formula One World Championship, a motor racing championship for Formula O ...

. The car was driven by

Carlos Sainz, Jr. Carlos Sainz Vázquez de Castro (; born 1 September 1994) is a Spanish racing driver who competes in Formula One for Williams Racing, Williams. Sainz has won Formula One Grands Prix across 11 seasons. Born in Madrid, Sainz is the son of Lis ...

and

Daniil Kvyat Daniil Vyacheslavovich Kvyat ( rus, Даниил Вячесла́вович Квят, p=dənʲɪˈil vʲɪtɕɪˈslavəvʲɪtɕ ˈkvʲat; born 26 April 1994) is a Russian racing driver who competes under a neutral flag in the IMSA SportsCar C ...

, who swapped seats with

Max Verstappen Max Emilian Verstappen (; born 30 September 1997) is a Dutch and Belgian racing driver who competes under the Dutch flag in Formula One for Red Bull Racing. Verstappen has won four Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he w ...

, who drove the car in the first four Grands Prix of the season. It used customer Ferrari's -specification power unit, the 060.

History

Prior to the season, both

Toro Rosso Scuderia Toro Rosso SpA (; ), commonly known as Toro Rosso or by its abbreviation STR, was an Italian Formula One constructor. It was one of two Formula One constructors owned by Austrian conglomerate company Red Bull, the other being Red Bul ...

and parent team

Red Bull Racing Red Bull Racing, currently competing as Oracle Red Bull Racing and also known simply as Red Bull or RBR, is a Formula One racing team, List of Formula One constructors#Team's nationality, competing under an Austrian racing licence and based in ...

used engines supplied by

Renault Renault S.A., commonly referred to as Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English), is a French Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company curr ...

. However, frustrated by the unreliability of the Renault Energy F1-2015 and its lack of power relative to rivals Mercedes and

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...

, Red Bull terminated the partnership at the end of the 2015 season. While Red Bull later renewed the relationship—albeit with engines rebadged as

TAG Heuer TAG Heuer S.A., founded Heuer AG ( ) is a Swiss luxury watchmaker. Founded in 1860 by Edouard Heuer in St-Imier, Switzerland, it was acquired by Techniques d'Avant Garde (TAG) in 1985, which purchased a majority stake in the company, forming ' ...

—Toro Rosso secured a new supply deal with Ferrari. Given the lateness of the deal, the substantial revisions made to the 059 series of engines between the 2015 and 2016 seasons, and the time taken to manufacture new components, Ferrari secured permission from the FIA to supply Toro Rosso with a 2015-specification 060 engine, but no direct factory support from

as opposed to the 061 used by Ferrari's works team and customer teams Haas and

Sauber Sauber Motorsport AG, currently competing in Formula One as Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber, and also known simply as Kick Sauber or Sauber, is a Swiss motorsport engineering company. It was founded in 1970 (as PP Sauber AG) by Peter Sauber, who pro ...

. Toro Rosso had already collaborated with Ferrari from 2007 through 2013. The car proved to be reasonably competitive, but not enough to escape from the large midfield group. Verstappen scored 13 points before his promotion to

after the in an exchange of places with

, whilst Sainz Jr. was the most successful driver in the STR11 car by scoring 46 points. Kvyat endured his worst season driving for Toro Rosso following his demotion, picking up only four points throughout the remainder of the season. The team finished seventh in the Constructors' Championship – the same position as in 2015, but with four fewer points.

Livery

This was the last Toro Rosso car featured with a distinctive charging bull since their debut with the STR1 in 2006. Both Nova Chemicals and

Cepsa Moeve, formerly known as Cepsa, (, "Spanish petroleum company, S.A.") is a Spanish multinational integrated energy and petroleum company headquartered at Torre Cepsa in the Cuatro Torres Business Area in Madrid. As of 2024, Moeve produced ...

sponsorships were terminated; Sainz' personal sponsor,

Estrella Galicia Estrella Galicia () is a brand of pale lager beer, manufactured by the company Hijos de Rivera Brewery, and located in A Coruña, Galicia, Spain. The Estrella Galicia brewery was founded in 1906 by José María Rivera Corral when he returned t ...

retained for the second year with the team present on the bargeboard.

Complete Formula One results

( key) (results in bold indicate pole position; results in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

References

External links

The car at Toro Rosso's official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Toro Rosso STR11 Toro Rosso Formula One cars 2016 Formula One season cars