OCTOBER 14, 2005

Squadra Toro Rosso

The new Red Bull-owned Minardi team is to be renamed Squadra Toro Rosso. The team, which will be run by former BMW Motorsport man Franz Tost, will be renamed after the takeover of Minardi is completed on November 1. It is not clear who will be driving for the team but one seat is expected to go to American Scott Speed and all the signs are that the team will try to push Tonio Liuzzi into the team, allowing Christian Klien to stay with Red Bull Racing, alongside David Coulthard. This is likely to upset some of the staff at Red Bull Racing, who believe that Liuzzi has a great deal more ability than Klien. The Austrian media however has been campaigning hard for Klien and Red Bull boss Dietrich Mateschitz has thus far been happy to calm the waters by giving way. This year the plan was originally for Klien and Liuzzi to share the second Red Bull but in the end Klien has had 15 races and Liuzzi four, which is hardly a fair arrrangement. This has obviously not be easy for Liuzzi and it will be interesting to see whether or not he stays with the team if he is faced with a future at Minardi. The Italian is believed to be on Dr Mario Theissen's shopping list and Liuzzi might decide that it is better to race with a team which appreciates him more.