Red Bull has announced that it is to buy back the 50 per cent stake in thꦇe Toro Rosso Formula One team that it sold to Gerhard Berger bac𓆏k in 2006.

Berger went ཧinto partnership with Red Bull chief - and long-time f🐈riend - Dietrich Mateshitz ahead of Toro Rosso's first season in F1 after Red Bull purchased the Minardi team from Paul Stoddart.

The partnership saw Red Bull provide the financial and technical backingꩲ and Berger admitted that such a situation wasn't feasible in th🎐e long-term.

"A 100 per cent financing of a joint project by one partner can only make sense, to my mind, at an initial stage," he said. "This stage is over now. That's why Red Bull will take over the shares🐼 again.♛"

Under the joint partnership, Toro Rosso emerged as the surprise package of the 2008 season, with Sebastian Vettel taking 💯his - and the teams - maiden win at Monza.

Such was the perf♏ormance of the team during the season that it ended the year sixth in the constructors' champ♋ionship - ahead of the sister Red Bull team by ten points - but it will now return wholly to Red Bull ownership ahead of 2009.

"I'm very grateful to Gerhard for his 🌸enormous input," Mateschitz said. "Together we have made Toro Rosso a team which, from 200ꩲ8 onwards, will regularly qualify for the top ten and collect championship points."

Toro Rosso is currently the o🌃nly team on the Formula One grid without any drivers signed for the 2009 campaign, with Vettel having moved on to the 'senior' Red Bull team𒅌.

Sebastien Bourdais, Sebastien Buemi and Takuma ⭕Sato all tested in Barcelona last week, while Rubens Barrichello and Bruno Senna are also reported targets - dependent on the line-up announced at Honda.