Arriving in Melbourne for the first grand prix of the year, Toro Rosso started their 2008 campaign with their modified 2007 STR2B. With only 8 classified finishes in the Australian Grand Prix, Sebastien Bourdais was lucky enough to score 2 points on his debut in Formula One, finishing 7th despite engine problems. Sebastian Vettel rounded out the poor weekend for the team, after an accident on the first lap saw him retire and not complete any laps of the Grand Prix.
The Malaysian Grand Prix was another poor weekend, with Sebastian Vettel having hydraulic problems on lap 39 and Sebastien Bourdais spinning on the first lap and retiring. On to Bahrain, where Sebastian Vettel had yet another DNF, with a accident on the first lap, while Sebastien Bourdais finished the Grand Prix in 15th place, a lap behind the leaders. Spain saw a double DNF for Toro Rosso, with Sebastian Vettel retiring on the first lap and Sebastien Bourdais retiring on the 7th lap.
The STR3 was planned to be introduced for the next Grand Prix in Turkey, however, with Sebastien Bourdais crashing it heavily in a test session in the lead up to the Grand Prix, so the Turkish Grand Prix was still being raced with the STR2B. And yet again, only one car crossed the finish line. Sebastien Bourdais DNFed on lap 24 due to a spin, while Sebastian Vettel finally managed to finish a Grand Prix, all be it down in 17th place, 1 lap behind.
Monaco, saw the introduction of the STR3, however, the results seemed to stay the same. Sebastien Bourdais failed to finish after an accident on lap 7, meanwhile Sebastian Vettel scored 4 points after finishing the race in 5th place. For the first time in the season, the Canadian Grand Prix saw both Toro Rosso drivers finish the Grand Prix with Sebastian Vettel scoring 1 point and Sebastien Bourdais finishing in 13th place. The French Grand Prix once again saw both drivers finishing the race, although, no points were scored.
The British Grand Prix saw Sebastian Vettel retire from the race after a spin on the opening lap, while Sebastien Bourdais finished 11th, one of his best results since the opening round of the championship. A point was again taken by Vettel at the German Grand Prix, where he finished 8th, Sebastien Bourdais finishing 12th. The Hungary Grand Prix saw another disappointing result for the team, with Sebastian Vettel retiring on lap 22 from overheating, while Sebastien Bourdais finished 18th, all be it 3 laps down.
The European Grand Prix, saw a turn around of Toro Rosso’s fortunes, with both drivers finishing the race in the top 10, for the first time this season. Sebastian Vettel managed to score 3 points, while Sebastien Bourdais rounded out the top 10. The weather affected Belgium round of the championship, saw Scuderia Toro Rosso’s best result to date. Sebastien Bourdais looked set to finish the race in 5th place, until the rain came. He did not pit for wet tyres, like so many other drivers had, and as a result, he was eventually passed. However, he did finish in 7th place, while Sebastian Vettel finished 5th, just 0.01 seconds behind Fernando Alonso for 4th place.
History was made at the Italian Grand Prix with Sebastian Vettel scoring the teams first ever pole position, and then cruising to victory for Scuderia Toro Rosso to take their first ever win! However, Sebastien Bourdais stalled on the grid and only finished in 18th position, on a day when it looked like both drivers could have finished on the podium.
Positions returned to normal for the first night race at Singapore, with Sebastian Vettel once again finishing in the points, scoring 4 points, while Sebastien Bourdais finished 12th. The Japanese Grand Prix saw both drivers finish in the top 10, with Sebastian Vettel again scoring 3 points for finishing 6th, and Sebastien Bourdais rounded out the top 10. For the first time, since the Hungarian Grand Prix, no points would be scored in China. Sebastian Vettel just missed out on a point, by finishing 9th, while Sebastien Bourdais finished a distant 13th.
The final round of the 2008 championship in Brazil had variable weather conditions, and saw Sebastian Vettel running at the front of the field for most of the race, he finished 4th, scoring 5 points, while Sebastien Bourdais finished 14th.
The 2008 season saw Scuderia Toro Rosso claim their first pole position and race victory and the team finished the season in 6th place in the WCC with 39 points, Sebastian Vettel finished an impressive 8th in the WDC with 35 points, while Sebastien Bourdais finished in 17th on the WDC with 4 points.
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