Tost not surprised by STR's form

In the last two races the team have mixed it with manufacturer teams in the fight for points, and are now tied with Williams in the constructors' championship points table.

But although Toro Rosso have caused a big stir with their pace, Tost says that the current speed is the result of a number of factors coming together.

"The main elements are fairly straightforward to identify and we can start with the STR3 car itself," he explained. "Red Bull Technology has provided us with a very competitive car and the group around Adrian Newey has done a great job.

"The second element is the engine, as Ferrari has provided us not only with an excellent power unit but also a good group of people to run it with us. We are very happy with our arrangement with Maranello, which indeed is why we have recently extended our supply agreement with them.

"The third element and the one that is perhaps most obvious from the outside, is our driver pairing. We are happy with both of them: Vettel's performance and understanding of the demands of his job is increasing at an incredible rate, every time he gets in the car. He is still learning and improving race by race and as for Bourdais, after a difficult period, he too has stepped up a gear in the past few weeks, as could be seen from the fact that, until the very last lap in Belgium, he had out-performed his teammate.

"On top of this, the team itself, both on the track and in our Faenza factory, has progressed in terms of the way everyone works together. The engineering group, working around Giorgio Ascanelli is doing a tremendously good job. They have developed an excellent understanding of our car, even though we did not get to race it until the Monaco GP. Giorgio and his team are getting the most out of the package.

"Put all these elements together and you have the reason for our "overnight success."

Toro Rosso are upbeat about their chances of Monza this weekend but Tost has moved to play down talk his team are now the leading Red Bull team.

"Look at the championship position and Red Bull Racing are fifth on 25 points and we are seventh on 17, so let's keep everything in perspective. The situation can change very quickly in Formula One, so we have to keep our feet on the ground.

"Although we are part of the same family, from 2pm on Sunday, we are racing against one another, with both teams striving to get the best possible result for Red Bull. As neither of us has won a grand prix yet, there is still a long way to go."