How it began

The Faenza team grew out of Minardi Team, which Giancarlo Minardi built in 1980 on the basis of his own racing outfit. Minardi entered the World Championship at the Brazilian Grand Prix on 7 April 1985 with Pierluigi Martini at the wheel. In twenty-one seasons, from 1985 to 2005, the team never made the podium; its best result, fourth place, came three times. But it gave many drivers their first race, among them Fernando Alonso in 2001.

In 2005 Red Bull bought Minardi, and from the 2006 season the team raced as Scuderia Toro Rosso — Italian for “red bull” — the company’s second team alongside Red Bull Racing. Its first race under the new name was the Bahrain Grand Prix on 12 March 2006, with Vitantonio Liuzzi and Scott Speed driving. Ever since, its job has been to bring drivers from Red Bull’s junior programme up to the senior team.

First win: Monza 2008

Sebastian Vettel brought the team its first win. On 13 September 2008 he took pole for the Italian Grand Prix — the first in the team’s history — and on 14 September he won the wet race. Toro Rosso, with Ferrari engines, finished the 2008 season sixth in the Constructors’ Championship, one place above Red Bull Racing.

Red Bull’s school

At the Australian Grand Prix on 15 March 2015 two rookies made their debut for the team at once: 17-year-old Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz. A year later Verstappen was promoted to Red Bull Racing, and on 15 May 2016 he won his very first race for the senior team, the Spanish Grand Prix.

In 2019, by then with Honda engines, the team reached the podium twice: Daniil Kvyat finished third at the German Grand Prix on 28 July 2019, and Pierre Gasly second at the Brazilian Grand Prix on 17 November 2019. Toro Rosso finished the championship sixth.

AlphaTauri and a second win

From 2020 to 2023 the team was called Scuderia AlphaTauri. The second win came at Monza again: on 6 September 2020 Pierre Gasly won the Italian Grand Prix from tenth on the grid. AlphaTauri finished the 2021 season sixth in the Constructors’ Championship.

In 2023 Daniel Ricciardo, who had raced for the team back in its Toro Rosso days, returned: his first race back was the Hungarian Grand Prix on 23 July 2023. Liam Lawson made his debut for the team at Zandvoort on 27 August 2023. The team finished the 2023 championship eighth.

RB and Racing Bulls

In 2024 the team was renamed RB, with Laurent Mekies as team principal. Ricciardo drove for it until the Singapore Grand Prix on 22 September 2024, after which Lawson took his seat, starting with the United States Grand Prix in Austin on 20 October 2024. The team finished the championship eighth, as it had a year earlier, but with almost twice as many points.

Since 2025 the team has been called Racing Bulls. Yuki Tsunoda and Isack Hadjar started the season, but from the Japanese Grand Prix on 6 April 2025 Tsunoda moved up to Red Bull Racing and Lawson returned in his place. On 31 August 2025 Hadjar finished third at the Dutch Grand Prix. During the season Mekies was called up to lead Red Bull Racing, and Alan Permane took charge of the team. It finished sixth in the 2025 Constructors’ Championship.

2026 season

The team began 2026 with Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad, who made his championship debut at the Australian Grand Prix on 8 March 2026 and scored points in his very first race, finishing eighth. In Monaco on 7 June 2026 Lawson finished fifth and Lindblad sixth.

Since the Dutch Grand Prix on 23 August 2026 Lawson has been standing in for the injured Isack Hadjar at Red Bull Racing, and reserve driver Yuki Tsunoda has taken his Racing Bulls seat in the meantime: eleventh at Zandvoort, tenth at Monza on 6 September and fourteenth in Madrid on 13 September 2026. The team’s power unit comes from Red Bull Ford, the same as the senior team’s. The 2026 regulations are new, and there are now eleven teams: Cadillac has joined the championship, and Sauber races as Audi.