Founded in 2005, Scuderia Toro Rosso, now VCARB, was an Italian Formula One constructor owned by Red Bull. It was the second team on the grid to be owned by the Austrian company, alongside Red Bull Racing, and served as a junior team for Red Bull. The team was formed after former Minardi team boss sold his stake in the team to Red Bull in 2005.
Despite the change in ownership, Red Bull chose to preserve the team’s Italian heritage by naming it Scuderia Toro Rosso.
Toro Rosso made its Formula One debut in 2006 with Vitantonio Liuzzi and Scott Speed driving for the team. They finished ninth in the team standings with one point, earned by Liuzzi at the United States Grand Prix.
The team recorded its first and only win at the 2008 Italian Grand Prix with Sebastian Vettel behind the wheel. Vettel had joined the team mid-season in 2007 following Speed’s controversies at the time and was later confirmed as a full-time driver for the 2008 season. His stint with Toro Rosso lasted only one season, as he was promoted to Red Bull Racing to replace the retiring David Coulthard.
Sébastien Bourdais stepped in for Vettel, but his time with the team was short-lived as he was sacked mid-season. He was replaced by Jaime Alguersuari for the remainder of the season. The team finished last in the standings, which was somewhat expected due to the challenges of matching their strong 2008 performance and the mid-season driver changes.
The team ended their partnership with Ferrari for engines after signing a deal with Renault for the 2014 season. This allowed them to use the same spec engines as Red Bull, Lotus, and Caterham. However, unlike Red Bull Racing, Toro Rosso did not receive the same factory support and operated on a contract-based relationship with Renault.
At the end of the 2014 season, the team announced the signing of Max Verstappen to drive alongside Daniil Kvyat. However, Kvyat was promoted to Red Bull for the 2015 season, making Verstappen the youngest driver on the grid; a record that remains unbroken to this day.
In 2016, Toro Rosso switched back to Ferrari engines but, once again, did not receive factory support and were supplied with 2015-spec engines instead of the latest versions. This partnership was short-lived, as Toro Rosso returned to Renault engines for the 2017 season.
However, this arrangement also didn’t last long. The team terminated their contract with Renault midway through the 2017 season and signed a partnership with Honda for their engines. This partnership proved beneficial, as Toro Rosso began receiving factory support after Honda ended their association with McLaren.
Alpha Tauri rebrand
The team underwent its first rebrand in 2020 to promote Red Bull’s clothing brand of the same name. This change also marked a shift from being known as Red Bull’s junior team to being considered a sister team, according to Franz Tost and Helmut Marko. The newly rebranded team featured Pierre Gasly and Daniil Kvyat. Gasly secured the team’s first win under the new name, ending a long drought for French winners in Formula One.
In 2022, the team followed Red Bull in using Red Bull-powered Honda engines after Honda’s exit from Formula One. The AlphaTauri era came to an end in 2023 when the team rebranded once again as the RB Formula One Team. This change coincided with the departure of Franz Tost, who was replaced by Ferrari’s former sporting director, Laurent Mekies.
Racing Bulls Rebrand
For the 2024 season, the team rebranded to Visa Cash App RB F1 Team. It is known as VCARB to shorten their name due to backlash at the name change. VCARB started this season with Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo as drivers, but finished with Liam Lawson in place of Ricciardo, who was dropped from the team due to poor performance.
Isack Hadjar, a rookie, earned a seat, alongside Tsunoda, for the 2025 Formula One season. The French driver had signed with the Red Bull Junior program in 2022, and rose up the lower Formula categories before getting the nod for the VCARB seat.
The team will follow Red Bull again in using Ford engines from 2026. This partnership is set to last to 2030 and beyond.
Written by Isha and Alexandra.
Featured Image Credit: bbc.co.uk
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