STR began its life as Minardi, a team which has struggled since entering F1 in 1985.

They only finished two races in their debut season and despite expending a great deal of effort, points, competitiveness and reliability were a long way off.

They snatched their first ever championship point at Detroit in 1988 when the long-serving (and suffering) Pierluigi Martini took sixth place.

The odd point drifted their way over the next few seasons with a couple of fourth places in 1991 at Imola and Estoril.

In 1993 the team had its best season to date by accumulating seven points with Christian Fittipaldi and Fabrizio Barbazza at the helm, finishing in eighth spot in the constructors' table.

However they could not build on that limited success and have continued to struggle in every season since, a sixth place for Pedro Lamy in the final race of 1995 was their last points finish until Marc Gene's sixth in the European GP in 1999.

Towards the end of 1999, things were looking bad for Minardi. Unable to find an engine deal - Supertec boss Flavio Briatore told them they had no place in F1 - it looked as though their love affair with the sport was at an end.

Thankfully a deal was done with Ford, which saw Minardi using the 1998 Ford Zetec engine.

Despite their best efforts Gene and Argentine team-mate Gaston Mazzacane were way off the pace and the team ended the season pointless.

The 2001 season marked another watershed for Minardi as the withdrawal of a major sponsor at the end of the previous year left them in difficult financial circumstances.

As a result the team was acquired in late January by UK-based Australian businessman Paul Stoddart, head of the European Aviation Group of companies, and merged with his European Formula Racing operation in Ledbury, England.

His plan was to retain Minardi's distinct character in the F1 paddock while providing EFR personnel, technical expertise and financial stability to strengthen the team and markedly improve its overall competitiveness in the future.

In 2002, with a new title sponsor and the all-new KL Minardi PS02 - a design overseen by Gustav Brunner before Toyota snatched him - the Minardi looked capable of springing surprises. But it was let down by the lack of power from its Asiatech engine.

Stoddart managed to keep his team afloat through 2002 though at times it looked like he would go the way of Prost and Arrows.

They survived, yet the plot of the Minardi story remained the same for the next two years with the feisty Stoddart utilising all of his street-fighting qualities to keep the team in existence.

That Minardi were once again on the grid in 2005 – proof that rumours of their demise were greatly exaggerated – was testament to how formidable an opponent Stoddart was in the dog-eat-dog world of F1.

However it was to be his last season in the sport as he sold out to Red Bull on the back of the most successful season in years.

Although the team were once again at the bottom of the Constructors' log, Minardi bagged seven points in 2005 - all earned at the six-car United States GP, which technically they finished last and second last.

Those seven points though would be the last ever recorded under the Minardi name as Stoddart handed over the team to Red Bull at the start of November, with the engery drink giant renaming the squad Scuderia Toro Rosso.

And while some may be disappointed that the Minardi name is no longer in Formula One, the upside is the team now has financially backing that won't disappear midway through the season and can also lean on the expertise of Red Bull Racing's staff.

And with two eager and talented drivers in Tonio Liuzzi and Scott Speed, 2006 could yet be this team's best season yet.