Posted on 13th December 2015
The 2015 season saw the Toro Rosso team remain in seventh place in the Constructors Championship. The 2014 season saw the Toro Rosso team clinch this place in the Constructors Championship with their ex drivers Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne who at the end of last season left the team to join Red Bull (Ricciardo) and to be an development driver for Ferrari (Vergne).
With Toro Rosso for the 2015 season going for a fresh and rookie line up of the highly rated Max Verstappen (son of former F1 driver Jos) and Formula Renault 3.5 Championship winner Carlos Sainz Jr (son of rally champion Carlos Sainz), many pundits believed this could either be a very risky or successful decision that the Faenza squad made this season. And I believe that the team made the right call this season.
Their season began well enough in Melbourne, with Sainz Jr scoring points on his debut with an ninth place finish in Australia and Verstappen sadly retiring from the race with problems with his Renault engine in a points scoring position. But both drivers continued with seventh and eighth place finishes in Malaysia, which made Verstappen the youngest driver in the history of the sport to score points.
In the next few races, both drivers finished out of the points in China, both drivers retired in Bahrain, both finished in the points in Spain and Sainz Jr grabbing the final point in Monaco when Verstappen retired. Before the summer break, Verstappen and Sainz Jr struggled in Canada, Verstappen scoring a point in Austria when his team mate retired, both drivers retiring in Silverstone and Verstappen scoring the team's joint best result of the season at the Hungarian Grand Prix with an amazing fourth place finish.
In the second half of the season, Verstappen showed more consistency on the track compared to Sainz Jr and managed to score more points when his team mate either struggled for performance or retired from the races. Verstappen backed up his result from Hungary with an eighth place finish in Spa when his team mate failed to finish the race, both failed to finish in Monza and both drivers scored points at the Singapore Grand Prix.
In the final few races of the season, both drivers scored points in Japan and Austin, while Verstappen scored points in Russia, Mexico and Brazil and failed to get any points in Abu Dhabi. But Sainz Jr in the final few races of the season only managed to score points in Austin and either failed to finish the race or finished out of the points.
Despite impressive performances from Verstappen and Sainz Jr during the course of the season, Toro Rosso has retained both of its drivers for next season and the future is looking bright for the team; even though they haven't move from their Constructors position this year.
When the car has been reliable on the track, Toro Rosso have shown on a good day, they're in the mix with the midfield but on a bad day, they're at risk of being swallowed up by Saubers and Lotus on the track. The question that continues to float inside my mind is with two talented drivers in the team who can deliver; without their reliability issues this year (especially for Sainz Jr); just how much more could Toro Rosso have achieved this season?
Max Verstappen 49 points/ 12th in the Driver's Championship
Many pundits and fans were sceptical when it was announced that Max Verstappen would be parterning Carlos Sainz Jr this season at Toro Rosso. For a 17 year old with one season of racing under his belt, Verstappen's debut season has been astonishing and has earned him the 'Rookie of the Year' accolade for his efforts this season.
Verstappen has outscored his team mate Sainz Jr by 18 points, has been outqualified by Sainz Jr nine times to seven but has finished more races and laps ahead of his team mate this season.
In the first half of the season, Verstappen retired from Australia in a points scoring position after problems with his Renault engine. But he bounced back with scoring his first points in Malaysia with an seventh place finish (thereby making him the youngest driver to ever score a point in the sport) and failing to score points in China and Spain and retiring in Bahrain and Monaco.
Before the summer break, Verstappen finished out of the points in Canada and Silverstone and scored points in Austria and Hungary where he showed his promise for the future with an astonishing fourth place.
In the second half of the season, Verstappen bounced back and outperformed his team mate in the races where it matters most. He managed to score points in Belgium, Singapore and Japan and finished out of the points in Italy. In the last few races of the season, he managed points finishes in Sochi, Austin, Mexico and Brazil and finished just out of the points in Abu Dhabi in a fantastic rookie season for the young Dutch driver showing that consistency is the key to bringing the car home to the finish line.
Vergne has achieved the team's best finish of two fourth places in Hungary and Austin compared to Sainz Jr best finishes seventh place in Austin. Even though it is clear that Verstappen has had a brilliant first season in the sport, has surprised many pundits in the process and proven them wrong on the track where it matters most.
As we would expect from a rookie driver, rookie errors do creep in and there has been the odd spin here and there and he hasn't always looked entirely polished in battle while racing on the track. You can't help but think however that Verstappen is only going to keep getting better and better.
I would say his best traits are his confidence and determination of being able to go out and deliver on the track, or if he does not deliver he is able to find the solution and improve so quickly and that is what will make him develop and improve as a driver for as long as he is in the sport.
For a 18 year old rookie that many doubted didn't have what it takes to be in Formula One, Verstappen has answered his critics in the best way possible and that is on the track with some stunning performances this season, and that is an enormous achievement and you can't help but think he'll only improve next season and keep knocking on Red Bull's door for a promotion in the near future.
Carlos Sainz Jr 18 points / 15th in Driver's Championship
This season has seen in my opinion Sainz Jr doing an outstanding job for the Toro Rosso team, in a car that doesn't flatter him or his talent, that doesn't finish as often as it should and quite often looks like an absolute handful to drive. Sainz Jr has been outscored his team mate Kvyat by 18 points, but has outqualified Verstappen nine times to seven but hasn't been able to finish more races and laps ahead of his team mate this season through no fault of his own.
To come up against a team-mate who has had less junior formulae experience and has a lot of talk since he has joined F1 and be close, if not right with him, is a remarkable achievement.
In the first half of the season, Sainz Jr scored points in the season opener in Melbourne with a ninth place finish on his debut. Sainz Jr then continued to score points in the first few races of the season with an eighth place finish, an ninth place finish at his home race in Spain and a tenth place finish in Monaco when his team mate either retired or scored points but did at times struggle to try and match the pace of his team mate.
Before the summer break, Sainz Jr finished out of the points in Canada and suffered three consecutive retirements in Austria, Silverstone and Hungary.
After the summer break, Sainz Jr suffered some bad luck on the track with retiring in Belgium, not scoring any points in Monza but scoring two consecutive points finishes in Singapore and Japan.
In the final few races of the year, Sainz Jr retired in Sochi and Brazil but managed to score points in Austin and finished out of the points in Mexico and Abu Dhabi but he did try to show that he did everything he could to try and get into a points scoring position, even if it didn't work out for him.
Verstappen did achieve the team's best finish of two fourth places in Hungary and Austin compared to Sainz Jr's best finish of seventh place in Austin. But what Sainz Jr has achieved in his first season in the sport is extremely impressive and you can understand why he has been promoted to Toro Rosso in 2015.
Personally, Sainz Jr's qualifying performances throughout the season has been fantastic. To qualify so consistently and to score points so quickly in the season is a sign of a prodigious talent, who has great potential but needs to ensure that he delivers when he gets the chance to.
Despite suffering issues that haven't allowed him to take the opportunities to get more points under his belt, that hasn't been his fault. He has shown however that when everything comes together, he can deliver and can deliver well and he has achieved that by bringing some of the points that Toro Rosso has acquired this season.
This season to me, Sainz has delivered the best results that he could when the car could finish. Most importantly, his racecraft has been near-faultless, not tripping over anyone or throwing points away unnecessarily and that is the main reason why Toro Rosso have kept him next season and a driver who now has experience to guide Toro Rosso next season and improve as a driver in the future.
In conclusion, 2015 has been a mixed season for the Toro Rosso. They have managed to retain their position in the Constructors Championship which has showed that the team are taking small steps in the right direction to get further into the midfield battle.
67 points is an adequate haul for the team and it wouldn't have been turned down by Franz Tost had it been offered to him at the start of the year compared to their tally last season. The question does linger in terms of how many more points could have been gained had their cars been there at the end more often. A perfect synopsis of Toro Rosso's season for me is that they are showing signs and glimpses of promise, but just short on achieving it with reliability issues when it matters most.
On the driver front, Verstappen had a lot to prove this season, especially given the fact that he was promoted in many people's eyes to soon and with many pundits and fans believing that he had to prove why he was deserving of the drive which he has in fantastic style.
But Sainz Jr has suffered some incredible bad luck this year especially in the second half of the season through no fault of his own and this denied him the chance to score points for himself and the team, but allowed him the chance to show that he can deliver just as well as Verstappen if the opportunity arises.
But what to expect from Toro Rosso for 2016? As we know Toro Rosso will be retaining the line-up of Verstappen and Sainz Jr for next season who clearly have done more than enough this season to warrant their contracts to be extended for another season.
Even though both drivers have the right attitude and also the potential to succeed in the sport, they will just like this season have to take the chance to deliver on the track when the opportunities arise and also need to be given adequate time to improve as drivers in the process.
For 2016, I see Verstappen and Sainz Jr throughout the season making improvements as we would expect from them but if the car is competitive and everything comes together, they could spring a surprise or two. Toro Rosso has to ensure that they learn from their mistakes this season and provide their young drivers with a consistent and most importantly a competitive car to achieve their planned objectives for 2016 as much as they possibly can.
Sarah Jones- @jonesy_laaa
