Toro Rosso

The building blocks are in place for Toro Rosso to make a Southampton-like ascension up the pecking order in the years to come. Having served its time languishing towards the lower end of F1’s midfield, the Red Bull B-team now has the chance to really make an impression thanks to Honda works backing.

Southampton’s revolution took place around five years ago as it catapulted itself from English footballs third tier to become one of the leading clubs outside of the bigger, better funded squads nearer the top of the Premier League. An impressive academy programme allowed it to develop some of the division’s top stars, similar to how Toro Rosso was an early base for the likes of Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo in F1.

But where Southampton suffered recently is in failing to keep hold of its talent. The likes of Saido Mane, Gareth Bale, Adam Lallana, Victor Wanyama and, most recently, Virgil van Dijk all went on to bigger clubs, and while the transfer fees certainly aided the club’s financial outlook, it has suffered a drop back through the field recently.