Motorsport Week continues its annual team-by-team review and ratings. Today it's time to look at our penultimate team in the championship order, Toro Rosso, alongside drivers Pierre Gasly and Brendon Hartley.
Toro Rosso ostensibly operates as Red Bull’s junior team and in 2018 on more than one occasion its own ambition was sacrificed for the greater good. But to tarnish the team as merely a feeder squad would be a disservice to its ability, and while it slipped down the standings it remains a formidable opponent on occasion. It deserves credit for the manner in which it developed the relationship with Honda, and the engine gains were eye-catching, but its own aerodynamic progress was comparatively poor, with the updates that did arrive not delivering. It was, at least, within touching distance of midfield rivals. A good, but not great, season.
If they were a football team they’d be: Vitesse Arnhem. Something of a feeder club…
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Best Race: Bahrain was stunningly unexpected. |  |
Worst Race: China. Oops. |
Toro Rosso’s inconsistent form means it is difficult to fully rate Gasly’s season – but consider that whenever the opportunity presented itself, he was there. Gasly’s fourth in Bahrain was the high watermark but he bagged hauls in Monaco and Hungary, and also demonstrated Honda’s gains by battling to points in Belgium. He was also exceptional in Canada, rising from the back with Honda’s old-spec engine, and Austria, where his car was badly damaged on the first lap. He has, and always had had, a way with words that sometimes trips him up, and reining that in may help his long-term prospects. Red Bull promotion has come sooner than expected – but then again, it also did for his new team-mate.
Where to improve: True weaknesses may only come to surface once fully embedded within Red Bull. He now has to deliver for 21 races – and against Max Verstappen.
Surprising Stat: Of the current grid only Magnussen (P2) and Hamilton (P3) secured their maiden points with a higher finish.
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Best Race: Bahrain was standout, but Monaco and Hungary were also exceptional. | |
Worst Race: Austin was a difficult race. |
It’s fair to say Red Bull’s Hartley experiment – if it can be called that – had a disappointing outcome, the heart-warming tale of getting an unexpected chance souring amid his own setbacks, accentuated by a lack of support from the company. Hartley understandably took time to adapt to single-seater sprint racing – compared to sportscars – but cut an intelligent and methodical figure, with Honda valuing his feedback. But too often he found himself on the wrong side of the margins, unable to find the lap time unearthed by Gasly, while a handful of big accidents did not help his cause. Red Bull sounded out replacements early on and the political nature of the paddock was ultimately one factor in Hartley’s undoing. He did not disgrace himself, and given more time would improve, but Red Bull is ruthless.
Where to improve: Every area needed improvement, understandable after his years away from single-seater racing, but to his credit he chipped away and got better.
Surprising Stat: Hartley spent 72 racing laps in the points, compared to 394 for Gasly.
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Best Race: From last to ninth (11th pre-rivals’ exclusions) in Austin was superb. | |
Worst Race: Dismal start and tyre wear wrecked promising Japan weekend. |
