Love for STR and Acronis at the Team's Home From Home

Although the Italian Grand Prix failed to deliver the desired grid order or points for many teams, the weekend proved a roaring success in other ways.

Situated approximately ten miles to the north of Milan lies the historic Autodromo Nazionale Monza and for Toro Rosso it represents a home from home for the Faenza based team.

During the days leading up to race weekend, both Daniil Kvyat and Carlos Sainz were only too happy to get up close and personal with their fans, putting them through their paces with a fun workout at Red Bull “Fit and Fly” special training at Virgin Active Cavour before.  The team then gave fans the opportunity to experience exactly what it’s like behind the wheel of the STR12 with a unique Virtual Reality Experience in Milan before the drivers joined Acronis partners and motorsport media for an Acronis Racing Day. Acronis President John Zanni presented the new Artificial Intelligence features of Acronis True Image 2018, the world’s #1 Personal Backup Software.  

Carlos Sainz and Daniil Kvyat at the Acronis media event in Italy.  

Following the conference, Daniil and Carlos challenged media representatives to an entertaining Radio Control car race before heading out onto the circuit to do it for real.

A wet and hectic qualifying session saw a number of drivers taking grid penalties for gearbox or engine changes and it was always going to be a tough ask from the lower end of the grid on race day.

Not that it bothered the fans of the team who were out in force to cheer on their heroes for lap after lap around one of the most iconic temples of speed.

With speeds topping 215mph, the high speed Curva Grande, like Belgium’s Eau Rouge and Suzuka’s 180R is one of the ultimate tests of a Formula One car’s strength.

A high speed corner puts a huge amount of stress on the car’s tyres, the rubber on the tread being heated to around 120 degrees, hot enough to fry an egg. The suspension on the car is also given a rigorous test and needs to withstand a cornering load of approximately two and a half tonnes on the rear wishbones, around the weight of an SUV.

Most of all, as circuits such as Monza, having a good and reliable engine is the key to success. With the old V8 engines, attrition rates were much higher than with the new Hybrid Power Units and the sight of smoking engines a regular occurrence.

Today, cars can complete a race with the same power as back in 2013 but by using only two thirds of the fuel and with a turbocharged V6. Although engine changes do happen and carry grid penalties, teams will typically now get through only half the amount as before.

Renault power saw both drivers home in Italy, albeit out of the points on this occasion, but it had been a weekend to remember for fans and drivers alike.