Formula 1: the STR4, bunny-ears, and our projected Melbourne Podium

The last Formula 1 car of the season to be unveiled is the Scuderia Toro Rosso STR4. Last year, running a Ferrari chassis, Scuderia Toro Rosso upstaged big brother Team Red Bull on a weekly basis, especially over the last nine races of the year, the feather in the cap coming when Sebastien Vettel scored the team’s maiden win in the rain at Monza.

This year STR brings back Sebastian Bourdais (below, left), who won the ChampCar Championship four consecutive years, but in his inaugural F1 season was bested by Vettel. Vettel has moved on to Team Red Bull, replacing the retired David Coulthard. To replace Vettel, Scuderia Toro Rosso had many options. Once Honda folded the veteran drivers of that team became available, at least momentarily.

Also on the market was Bruno Senna, nephew of the late Aryton Senna, quite possibly one of the most popular drivers of all time. Having the Senna name attached to the product would’ve likely meant sponsors, but on the world stage Bruno Senna is most unproven. Scuderia Toro Rosso finally made their choice, tapping Sebastian Buemi (pictured, right), the Swiss GP2 star. Apparently, no one at STR knows anyone not names Sebastian or some variation thereof.

The car was unveiled last week, and like all the others it is drastically different from last years models, thanks to the FIA’s new aerodynamic regulations. The STR4, oddly enough, has the Red Bull lettering instead of Toro Rosso lettering, but this could easily be a testing livery and something that Scuderia Toro Rosso plans to change by Melbourne.

The most glaring difference between the STR4 and the other cars on the grid this year seems to be the nose of the car, just above the front scoop. Ferrari, Renault and Force India all feature a blunt, flat nose. McLaren, Sauber, and Williams brought out a more curved, pointed nose. Scuderia Toro Rosso unveiled the most pointed nose of them all, with a massive slant to boot.

The paint scheme, like last year, is darn near identical to the RB5 of Team Red Bull, with only some minor modifications denoting the differences in team. With the sharper, less curved nose, the car is a definitive throwback to the 1990s, especially the old Benetton car of Michael Schumacher.

The STR4 features little in the way of aerodynamic doodads, unlike the Williams FW31 and the VMJ02 of Force India. Williams’ bunny-ears (“skate-fins” is the technical term), designed to funnel air more efficiently to the rear wing, are technically legal, as the new aero-regs actually list no restrictions for that particular area of the auto-body. If testing proves a positive difference between running the car with the bunny-ears versus without, then look for other teams to copy the Williams design, and perhaps improve on it.

So let’s make some rather impromptu and off-the-cuff predictions for Melbourne. The race is seventeen days away, and if it is anything like last year’s race, that’s how many cars will either crash out or exit the race due to technical problems. But I don’t foresee a repeat of last year’s event.

The new technologies in place as a result of the aerodynamic regulations for 2009 should result in more stability across the board, especially with the new engine rules. The backmarkers will have their typical outings, but the top tier programs should be hyper-competitive during the race.

The Right Wing Projected Podium for Melbourne:

Winner: Robert Kubica – BMW Sauber

Second: Lewis Hamilton – McLaren Mercedes

Third: Felipe Massa – Scuderia Ferrari