TEAM PREVIEW: Can Racing Bulls put on a charge with their new name and another new driver?

History

Racing Bulls’ place in the sport can be traced back to Minardi, who were based in Italy and competed in F1 from 1985 to 2005, when late Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz acquired the team and initially called it Toro Rosso (Red Bull in Italian).

Toro Rosso’s primary goal was to nurture young talent and guide them toward the senior Red Bull outfit, with future Grand Prix winner Ricciardo and future World Champions Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen spending time there in the early stages of their careers.

UNDERDOG TALES: When Vettel and Toro Rosso splashed their way to a sensational maiden win at Monza

Vettel memorably achieved Toro Rosso’s first pole position and F1 victory at the 2008 Italian Grand Prix when he mastered tricky, wet conditions around the Monza circuit through qualifying and the race – before Red Bull Racing had reached such milestones.

Toro Rosso, who were renamed as AlphaTauri (after Red Bull’s clothing arm) in 2020 and became RB for 2024, are still primarily based in Faenza, Italy, but recently moved their UK offices from Bicester to Milton Keynes, where Red Bull are located.