Vergne took home sixth in Singapore; the team's best result in 2014
2014 confirmed Toro Rosso's position as a respectable midfield runner unable to make the final breakthrough needed to become a top team. The team's package was quick and reliable, but not quite enough to regularly score points. Indeed, Vergne and Kvyat finished just outside the points, no less than eight times. The highlight of the year was Vergne's run to sixth at the 2014 Singapore Grand Prix to score the team's season highest finish. But 6th place finish at Singapore was not enough for Vergne to remain in Toro Rosso squad for 2015 season and hence he was replaced by Carlos Sainz Jr. for the following season. Kvyat, despite a points finish in the first race of the season, lost his motivation after a sequence of bad luck and narrowly missing out on further points. He decided to move to Red Bull Racing for the following season after Sebastian Vettel decided to move to Ferrari team, and would be replaced by future world champion Max Verstappen.
The team eventually finished seventh in the Constructors' Championship with 30 points. This was their 2nd best WCC position so far, but there was still some way to go to take on the likes of Red Bull, Mercedes, Ferrari, Williams and McLaren.
^ abDespite CEPSA is an oil and gas company as a major sponsor of Scuderia Toro Rosso since mid-2011 season, the CEPSA branding appears on the STR9, but the car uses Total fuel and lubricants.[2]
^"The Shortest Month". scuderiatororosso.com. Scuderia Toro Rosso. 3 January 2014. Archived from the original on 4 January 2014. Retrieved 4 January 2014. On the Scuderia Toro Rosso front, the first STR9 chassis is currently being assembled in the Faenza factory. New rules or not, the same procedures apply and over the Christmas period Jean-Eric Vergne and Russian rookie Daniil Kvyat turned up at the factory for the traditional seat fitting in the new chassis that will carry all our hopes in 2014.
