Tost predicts 'year of excitement and uncertainty'

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Scuderia Toro Rosso team principal Franz Tost has said he expects 2017 to be a year of unparalleled excitement and uncertainty within the sport, as a result of tyre and aerodynamic rules changes along with the takeover of the sport by new owners.

"The sport’s technical regulations have undergone one of the biggest changes we have seen in a couple of decades," Tost declared on Sunday at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, where the team was assembled for the unveiling of this year's car.

"In simple terms, the cars are wider, longer, lower, faster, noisier and use bigger tyres, promising more grip, higher cornering speeds and hopefully even closer racing.

"These radical changes mean that this year’s car, the STR12, started life as a clean sheet of paper, but it was designed and built by the same people in Faenza and Bicester who produced its predecessor, which was regarded as an excellent package.

"We really like the first major livery change of our twelve years on the F1 grid and this new look is reflected in our pit garage, which has also been updated to make life easier while working around these much larger cars.

Toro Rosso reveals revamped STR12!

"Everyone in the team has worked extremely hard to ensure we have a very competitive season," he added. "Further cause for optimism comes from the fact our chassis is mated to what is possibly the most competitive engine we have had so far in the hybrid era, as we return to Renault power once more.

"For all Formula One fans, 2017 should be a year of excitement and uncertainty."

Part of that uncertainty stems from the fact that the sport is now under new management: "For the first time in decades, Bernie Ecclestone is no longer steering the ship, having changed Formula 1 from a minority interest sport into a global phenomenon.

"Now, we look forward to working with the new owners, who seem well qualified to grow the business in the future."

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.