The STR14 was designed under the outgoing Technical Director James Key, who departed afterward to join McLaren. The car incorporated a significant number of shared components with the Red Bull RB15, including the full rear end, rear suspension, and several front suspension components — a permitted degree of technical collaboration between the sister teams. It completed its shakedown at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli on 13 February 2019, with Daniil Kvyat and debutant Alexander Albon at the wheel. The online launch revealed notable aerodynamic changes compared to the STR13, including revised sidepods adopting a high-top design first seen on the Ferrari SF70H, and lowered front suspension wishbones.
The car was the second Toro Rosso chassis to run Honda power, continuing the factory works arrangement established with the STR13. Aerodynamically, the nose retained strong similarities to its predecessor, but the monocoque featured a more pronounced sloped front section. The sidepods represented the most visually distinct departure, moving away from a conventional layout to the high-top configuration that had proliferated through the grid.
The STR14 proved meaningfully more competitive than the STR13, with the drivers reaching Q3 on a regular basis. The car's first engine upgrade arrived at Baku, targeting reliability and power. A double points finish at Monaco — Kvyat seventh, Albon eighth — highlighted the car's one-lap pace in tight street conditions.
The German Grand Prix at Hockenheim, run in chaotic wet conditions, delivered the breakthrough result: Kvyat claimed a podium finish, the team's first since Sebastian Vettel won at Monza in 2008. Later in the season, with Albon promoted to Red Bull Racing in August to replace the underperforming Pierre Gasly, Gasly returned to Toro Rosso. At the Brazilian Grand Prix, Gasly crossed the line second — just 0.062 seconds ahead of Lewis Hamilton — claiming both the team's third podium and his own maiden Formula One podium.
Naoki Yamamoto also participated, driving in the first practice session of the Japanese Grand Prix.
The STR14 carried a predominantly blue livery with red accents consistent with its predecessors, along with Red Bull Cola multi-colour branding on the rear wing. Throughout the year, the team incorporated several tributes: a commemoration of race director Charlie Whiting at the Australian Grand Prix following his death; recognition of the team's 250th Grand Prix entry in China; a Niki Lauda tribute at Monaco matching the one applied by Red Bull Racing; and a halo tribute to Anthoine Hubert reading "Always with me #AH19" at the Belgian and Italian Grands Prix on Gasly's car.
The STR14 finished the season sixth in the Constructors' Championship with 85 points — the team's best championship position since 2008 and the highest points total in their history. The season demonstrated that Honda's power unit had matured into a competitive package, and the momentum carried directly into Red Bull's own Honda-powered campaign with the RB15 that year. The STR14 marked the end of an era: Toro Rosso, a team founded in 2006, rebranded as Scuderia AlphaTauri for 2020, ending fourteen years under that identity.