Scuderia Toro Rosso launched its new 2010 F1 single-seater yesterday in Valencia, the STR5 being significant as it is the first car to be built entirely in-house by the Faenza, Italy-based team since it was bought out by Red Bull. Drivers Sebastian Buemi, who then took the car out on track for its shakedown runs following the unveiling, and team mate Jaime Alguersuari, were on hand to remove the covers. Once again the car will use Ferrari engines.

When the energy drinks giant purchased the Minardi team it stripped out its car development and assembly capacity to reduce costs and the Toro Rosso team's cars have been developed ever since by the senior Red Bull squad. However rule changes see Toro Rosso forced to become a full constructor in its own right and as a result the team has added new a development to its headquarters as well as raising staffing levels to above the 200 mark. Following its presentation yesterday the STR5, made its track debut on the first day of official F1 pre-season testing, posting a best time around Valencia of 1.14.762.

"2010 is a landmark year for Scuderia Toro Rosso as the new regulations demand that we go it alone in terms of designing and building our car in-house," Team Principal Franz Tost said at the launch. "After four years of working in collaboration with Red Bull Technology, the STR5 is the first car that is one hundred percent down to our own endeavours.

"Creating the necessary infrastructure to tackle this task has been our biggest challenge, possibly more difficult than actually producing the car itself. We have taken on an additional eighty staff and expanded our facility to accommodate them, including a Machine Shop to increase our production capacity. In addition, we have commissioned a wind tunnel in Bicester, England, which we bought from Red Bull. It will take time for the highly skilled team we have assembled to learn to work together as efficiently as possible.

"Making predictions for the coming season is a dangerous trap, but if pushed, I would say we must aim to finish in the top eight in the Constructors' Championship, while giving our young drivers everything they need to improve, as well as optimising our infrastructure in order to be as competitive as possible in 2010 and beyond."

The new STR5 features a fully-integrated double diffuser, last year Toro Rosso was one of the teams that had to incorporate the new designs into its car mid-season, and the car is a relatively conservative design. "At the end of last year, we had already increased our staff to around one hundred and fifty and now we have two hundred. At the end of March 2009, we got the green light as to what actually constituted being an F1 Constructor," said Technical Director Giorgio Ascanelli. "That was the starting point for building up our operation in such a way that we could actually design a car that was achievable in engineering terms, working in a different way to the methods we had adopted in the past.

"Being recognised as a constructor involves owning the intellectual property rights to what are defined as the listed parts: these are effectively the monocoque, the safety structures that are subject to homologation and crash testing, which means the rear and front structures, primary and secondary roll-over structures and the complete aerodynamic package, the suspension, fuel and cooling systems. Before even thinking about producing a car, we had to acquire the right tools to carry out these tasks and also hire the people who are to use these structures. Finding fifty people and putting them in an environment where they can do their job has been a tough task.

"As for the challenge we face this season, to quote Mao Tse-tung, 'we should not be talking about what we will do when we have crossed the river, we must first get the bridges and ships with which to cross the river.' We have started by building those bridges and ships. We are not quite there yet and, at this stage, getting everyone to work together in a productive fashion is our most important task."

With Sebastien Buemi at the wheel, the car (chassis number STR5-02) completed 10 laps of Valencia yesterday before being sidelined with a gearbox control problem, which took some time to fix. The Swiss driver then went back on track for the final half hour. In total, he completed 18 laps, posting the seventh fastest time of the eight runners. "This morning we had a problem with one of the gearbox actuators, which we managed to improve, but not fix completely," said Ascanelli. "It is too early to make any comment on the actual performance characteristics of the new car. In the short term, we will be trying to fix the actuator problem overnight, in the hope of having a better day tomorrow.”

Buemi added after yesterday's test runs: "It’s good to start testing at last. This morning, we had a problem, which took a long time to analyse. We managed to get out again towards the end of the day, even though the fault was not completely fixed. At least we managed some running, which allowed us to work through the usual new car procedures, such as checking seat position, visibility from the cockpit, the systems and so on. But it is a bit too early to get an impression of what the car is like, especially those elements affected by the rule changes.”

Also on hand for the unveiling was Spanish youngster Jaime Alguersuari who joined the team mid last year: "It felt good to be back at a race track and hear the sound of F1 cars again, and I can’t wait until Wednesday, when I get my first turn behind the wheel," said Alguersuari. "Wednesday will be my first test, last year, every race, every Friday practice, every qualifying, was a test for me. For me, the race was a test, I could not compete against the others because I was at such a disadvantage."

Alguersuari backs the proposed plans by Stefan GP and Lewis Hamilton's father Anthony to allow young drivers to obtain time behind the wheel of an F1 car. "Yes, it helps, the more testing you have, the better you are. To have the opportunity to drive is always good. For me it was not like this so I had to do everything differently. It is important and positive, for sure." As well as these initiatives Alguersuari thinks drivers should have more testing opportunities, saying: "Wednesday is going to be the first F1 test of my life. At least we have seven or eight days, last year I had none. I think it should change. On the test you normally do 500km. The most mileage I did last year was on a Friday when I did around 300km. For the physical and psychological sides, it's always nice to do long runs and experience the car. It should be good for everyone to have more testing, not just young drivers but to improve the cars. Maybe there is an economic limitation, but if we could deal with it, it would be good for everyone."

Buemi will continue to drive the new STR5 during the second day of testing at Valencia today, while Alguersuari take over in the cockpit on Wednesday.