Tost has opted to finally retire, having led the Faenza-based squad since they entered the Formula 1 grid in 2006.

He’s seen an incredible amount since then, with Ricciardo being hopeful that Tost can “enjoy putting his feet up”.

Having first raced for Red Bull’s sister team back in 2012, a time when he was just a young driver looking to make his mark in the pinnacle of motorsport.

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Ricciardo remembers his first interaction with Tost well and how he entered the former team boss’ office “with a smile”, resulting in a comical look from Tost.

In many ways, Ricciardo believes Tost is similar to Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko, in that both men helped him “mature a little quicker and ultimately grow up”.

The eight-time F1 race winner also revealed how Tost used to get so involved “in every debrief”, simply because racing is “his passion”.

Tost not leading AlphaTauri is certainly going to be very strange and will take the team some time to get used to.

“I’d say tremendously. I think for the team, he’s been everything, obviously starting off in the Toro Rosso days, or my first full season in F1,” Ricciardo said, as per the official F1 website.

“I remember quite vividly the first meeting I had in his office and I kind of bounced in with a smile. I think he looked at me like… He tried to prepare me for what’s ahead. It’s a serious sport and it’s a tough old world.

“I think he was very honest with me as well, but it made me… A little bit the same as with [Red Bull advisor] Helmut [Marko], it kind of made me mature a little quicker and ultimately grow up.”

READ: Mercedes told beating Ferrari was right thing to do

Ricciardo continued: “I think Franz has always been really involved. He’s in every debrief, he’ll normally speak as well in debriefs and give some analysis or advice or anything he’s seen. He’s fully involved in it and it’s his passion.

“It’s been everything that’s kind of given him drive for so many years. I hope he can enjoy putting his feet up a little bit next year. I’m not sure fully what that’s going to entail for him, but I really hope he’s able to enjoy some R&R.”

For 2024, Tost has been replaced by ex-Ferrari race director Laurent Mekies, who has never been a team principal before.

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Having been AlphaTauri’s team principal since the side joined the sport in 2006, Tost has seen plenty of drivers come and go.

Remarkably, not one driver is disappearing off the grid following the end of the 2023 season, with the class of 2024 to be exactly the same as what was seen at the recent Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Overall, there is only one change on the 2024 grid compared to the start of 2023, and that’s Daniel Ricciardo replacing Nyck de Vries.

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It’s the first time in F1’s history that the drivers which ended the season will all start the next campaign, halting the career of some Formula 2 drivers who have been forced to look elsewhere.

However, according to Tost, there are two drivers who shouldn’t be in the sport, although Croft failed to name who the 67-year-old picked out.

“I had a fabulous exchange with him in the paddock at a race,” Croft said on the Sky F1 podcast.

“We were just talking in general, sometimes you could get Franz when he had five or 10 minutes and just chew the cud of Formula 1 and we were talking about drivers.

“He said, ‘Yeah, every single driver in this paddock deserves to be in this paddock, deserves to be in Formula 1 … except two.

“I said ‘Really? Two? And who would they be? He said, blah, blah, blah, and blah, blah, bla. I’m not going to name them, but I could not disagree with a word he said about that one.

“And he then went on to explain absolutely why they really shouldn’t be in Formula 1 at the moment.

“But I’m not going to tell you who because that will be unfair of those drivers.”

In the most recent season, the two drivers whose futures were speculated the most were Sergio Perez and Logan Sargeant, two drivers at completely different ends of the grid.

Perez’s mid-season struggles saw his 2024 Red Bull seat linked to the likes of Ricciardo, despite the fact he actually has a contract with the Austrians for next year.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner ended up getting involved to put an end to the speculation, by stressing that the Mexican driver wasn’t going anywhere.

READ: Toto Wolff admits Mercedes forced to change pit-stop ‘mindset’

As for Sargeant, his seat was linked to the likes of Mick Schumacher, Liam Lawson and Frederik Vesti, as he made far too many driver errors.

Sargeant ended 2023 well by progressing to Q3 at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, whilst his only top-10 finish came at the United States Grand Prix.

The American rookie struggled to adjust to F1, although team boss James Vowles has opted to give him more time to show his potential in 2024.

The post AlphaTauri boss says two F1 drivers need to be fired appeared first on Formula1News.co.uk.

Tost was recently asked what his dream pairing would be in F1, with him stating that he’d like to see Vettel and Verstappen alongside each other.

The departing team boss knows both drivers from when they raced for Red Bull’s sister side, as he’s been their team principal for the past 18 years.

Tost became AlphaTauri boss when the team entered F1 in 2006, with ex-Ferrari race director Laurent Mekies taking his place for 2024.

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Vettel raced for the team from mid-2007 until the end of 2008 before being promoted to Red Bull; however, his first win came whilst with the Faenza-based squad.

The four-time World Champion won the 2008 Italian Grand Prix, to secure what was the team’s first win.

Verstappen raced for them from 2015 until the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix, when like Vettel, he was promoted to Red Bull.

However, unlike the German, Verstappen failed to win a race for the sister team.

The three-time World Champion has since gone onto claim more F1 wins than Vettel, though, whilst he also broke the retired driver’s record of nine consecutive victories.

Verstappen and Vettel would be a formidable duo, as they are both very fast but also “very passionate” about racing.

“Vettel and Max – because of their dedication to the sport and their speed,” Tost said on the Beyond the Grid podcast.

“They know how to win races and they also bring all the factors with them, what you need to win races.

“This is, first of all, the talent. You must be highly skilled for driving such a car. Second, the passion. Both of them are very passionate.

“Look at Max, he is driving this e-car series and all this kind of stuff. Isn’t this fantastic? A three-time Formula 1 world champion and at home he is racing against others on the computer.

“Then they are disciplined. They know exactly when and what they have to do.

“The discipline is a very, very important factor, and then to study the rivals, to find out where are the deficiencies and to work on this to beat them.

READ: Christian Horner and Toto Wolff embrace

“These are the factors both of these drivers have, 100 per cent.”

As for who’d come out on top, Tost believes Verstappen would have the edge in qualifying but thinks Vettel would claim more race victories.

“Could be Sebastian,” Tost said, when asked who’d win more races.

The post Sebastian Vettel shockingly picked over Max Verstappen appeared first on Formula1News.co.uk.

After leading the team since they entered Formula 1 in 2006, Tost is being replaced by ex-Ferrari race director Laurent Mekies from 2024 onwards.

Tost has dealt with a lot over the years; however, the last two seasons have been particularly challenging.

2022 specifically was a bad campaign for the Faenza-based side, as they took a significant step backwards.

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Tost wasn’t happy about this and wanted things to improve, something he was hoping would happen after he was told by engineers that they were making “good progress” ahead of 2023.

Come the 2023 Bahrain GP, AlphaTauri were abysmal, much to Tost’s frustration.

As a result, he stated that he no longer trusted his aero engineers.

“Especially on the aerodynamics side, there are different programmes going on and the engineers tell me that we make some good progress,” Tost said in March, as cited by Motorsport Week.

“But I don’t trust them anymore. I just want to see the lap time because this is the only thing which counts.” 

Of course, AlphaTauri improved considerably throughout the campaign and salvaged eighth in the Drivers’ Championship.

They’re also now set to work closer with Red Bull once again, which, in theory, should help the side make further progress.

A complete rebrand is set to be completed by the sister team, who underwent several personnel changes following the season-opener.

Tost revealed that those which his post-Bahrain comment was directed at were removed as the car simply wasn’t improving, with new aero engineers having been brought in.

“I must tell you the background story. Our car last year was not competitive,” Tost told F1’s Beyond the Grid podcast.

“Then I said we have to do something, because I cannot accept that we are rolling around in the back of the field, I want to be at least in the front part of the midfield.

“‘Yeah, yeah. We are working very hard and we have solutions. We know exactly what we have to do.’

“I visited them at the aero department. They told me figures and they said ‘the car will be fantastic. Really good performance, very good figures in CFT, as well as in the wind tunnel, and blah blah blah.’

“Then we came to Bahrain and I did not need to wait for the race. I knew already after the test that we are nowhere.

“Then I got upset and I said to them, ‘what’s going on?’

“‘Oh, you know, there’s coming an upgrade.’ I said, ‘I don’t care about an upgrade. This car must perform well.’

READ: Christian Horner and Toto Wolff embrace

“Then, in your press conference, I was asked about this and I said, ‘I don’t trust them anymore.’

“If I don’t trust anymore the people, then they are out. This was the case. We changed them and brought in some new people, so we have now hopefully a good team in the aero department.

“I must say, all the upgrades they brought this year so far worked acceptably.”

The post Franz Tost reveals ‘background story’ around questionable comment appeared first on Formula1News.co.uk.

Having been the Faenza-based side’s boss since they entered F1 in 2006, Tost oversaw Vettel’s stint with the team from mid-2007 to the end of 2008, before he was promoted to Red Bull.

Prior to switching to Red Bull, Vettel claimed his maiden F1 victory at the side’s home race in Monza, a day which is likely one of the best of Tost’s career.

Verstappen followed a similar path to Vettel, as he raced for Red Bull’s sister team in 2015 and in the opening rounds of 2016, before moving to the Milton Keynes-based team at the Spanish Grand Prix.

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Whilst Verstappen never claimed a podium for the sister team, his aggression and driving style received significant praise, given that he was just a teenager.

There’s no doubting that both drivers are amongst the best in the history of the sport, as they have seven titles between them.

Just like Vettel did, Verstappen has gone from strength-to-strength at Red Bull and is now just one title away from matching the German’s four consecutive crowns from 2010-2013.

It’s not just because of their ability to win which is why they’d form Tost’s fantasy pairing, it’s also because they are “very passionate”.

“Vettel and Max – because of their dedication to the sport and their speed,” Tost revealed, as reported by Crash.net.

“They know how to win races and they also bring all the factors with them, what you need to win races.

“This is, first of all, the talent. You must be highly skilled for driving such a car.

“Second, the passion. Both of them are very passionate.

“Look at Max, he is driving this e-car series and all this kind of stuff. Isn’t this fantastic?

“A three-time Formula 1 World Champion and at home he is racing against others on the computer.

“Then they are disciplined. They know exactly when and what they have to do. The discipline is a very, very important factor.

“And then to study the rivals, to find out where are the deficiencies and to work on this to beat them. These are the factors both of these drivers have, 100%.”

READ: David Coulthard adamant Lewis Hamilton isn’t performing ‘at his prime’

Interestingly, Tost thinks if Verstappen and Vettel were to be team-mates, it’d be the Dutchman who’d win the qualifying head-to-head.

However, the retiring team principal thinks Vettel would have the edge in race wins.

“Could be Sebastian,” Tost said, when asked who’d win more races.

The post Franz Tost makes shock claim about Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen appeared first on Formula1News.co.uk.

Tost’s tenure at the Red Bull sister team started at the very beginning of their Formula 1 journey in 2006, when they fielded Scott Speed and Vitantonio Liuzzi.

Since then, the Faenza-based squad have gone onto have some of the sport’s brightest stars race for them, such as, Sebastian Vettel, Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo, Carlos Sainz, Alex Albon and Pierre Gasly.

Tost has overseen all of it, although it’s now time for ex-Ferrari race director Laurent Mekies to take control of the team.

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AlphaTauri’s imminent rebrand very much marks the start of a new beginning for the team, who have so much to thank Tost for.

Under Tost’s guidance, Vettel and Gasly both claimed their maiden F1 wins, which both occurred at Monza.

Whilst Tost has so many fond memories of the team, it’s no secret that the last two years have been incredibly challenging.

With the exception of the latter stages of the 2023 season, AlphaTauri were often found at the bottom of the pecking order, largely due to having opted to follow their own development path.

Trying to move away from Red Bull was the side’s biggest mistake, resulting in Tost taking action at the very beginning of the recently completed campaign.

After the season-opener in Bahrain, Tost shockingly told the media that he didn’t “trust” his engineers in the team’s aero department, who’d told him ahead of the season that the AT04 “will be fantastic”.

Until the side started to take inspiration from Red Bull, the AT04 was woeful, with Tost having replaced those who told him the AT04 would be a great car.

Since replacing them, he admits that the upgrades introduced throughout the season “worked acceptably”.

“The engineers whom I meant; they understood it,” Franz said, as reported by Crash.net.

“I must tell you the background story.

“Our car last year was not competitive. Then I said we have to do something, because I cannot accept that we are rolling around in the back of the field, I want to be at least in the front part of the midfield.

“‘Yeah, yeah. We are working very hard and we have solutions. We know exactly what we have to do.’

“I visited them at the aero department. They told me figures and they said ‘the car will be fantastic. Really good performance, very good figures in CFT, as well as in the wind tunnel, and blah blah blah.’

“Then we came to Bahrain and I did not need to wait for the race. I knew already after the test that we are nowhere.

“Then I got upset and I said to them, ‘what’s going on?’

“‘Oh, you know, there’s coming an upgrade.’

“I said, ‘I don’t care about an upgrade. This car must perform well.’

“Then, in your press conference, I was asked about this and I said, ‘I don’t trust them anymore.’

READ: David Coulthard adamant Lewis Hamilton isn’t performing ‘at his prime’

“If I don’t trust anymore the people, then they are out. This was the case.

“We changed them and brought in some new people, so we have now hopefully a good team in the aero department.

“I must say, all the upgrades they brought this year so far worked acceptably.”

The post Franz Tost reveals story behind brutal comments appeared first on Formula1News.co.uk.

Ricciardo fractured his metacarpal after crashing at Turn 3 during the opening stages of Free Practice 2 at Zandvoort, something which was entirely not his fault.

As Ricciardo entered the corner, he was unable to see that fellow Australian Oscar Piastri had crashed on the racing line, leaving Ricciardo with a sudden choice to make.

It was inevitable that the AlphaTauri driver was going to crash given the circumstances; however, he had to decide whether to crash directly into Piastri or to put his own car in the wall.

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Ricciardo went for the latter but didn’t have the time to take his hand off the steering wheel, as there is no run-off on the outside of the banked corner.

The 34-year-old was seen holding his hand the moment he got out of the car, before being sent to hospital for a scan, where his broken metacarpal was discovered.

Unfortunately for the fan favourite, the fracture turned out to be complicated, with him having flown to Barcelona to visit the same doctor who operated on Lance Stroll during pre-season.

Ricciardo underwent a successful surgery but remains in the Spanish city, where he is currently undergoing therapy.

Supposedly, Ricciardo is eager to return at the Singapore Grand Prix in two weeks’ time; however, based on an update from Tost, this looks very unlikely.

The AlphaTauri boss admitted that Ricciardo is likely going to be out of action for “two to three weeks”, theoretically ruling him out of the races in Singapore and Japan.

“He [Ricciardo] is doing alright according to the circumstances. I called him, he is still in Barcelona but is already getting physical therapy treatments there,” Tost told Sky Germany.

READ: Ex-Ferrari manager fires Valtteri Bottas accusation

“We now have to see how fast the healing process is, we can’t say anything in advance, we need a few more days to get a good view on the process.

“I hope it’s only a matter of weeks, hopefully not too many but we are for sure not going to see him in the car in the next two to three weeks. But we will see.”

Red Bull reserve driver Liam Lawson took Ricciardo’s place in Zandvoort and is doing so again this weekend at the Italian Grand Prix, with it having been confirmed that the New Zealander will continue to replace the eight-time race winner until he’s fully fit to return.

The post Injury update: AlphaTauri share very bad news with Daniel Ricciardo fans appeared first on Formula1News.co.uk.

Ricciardo endured an opening day to forget at Zandvoort, following an unfortunate crash in Free Practice 1.

Ricciardo crashed at Turn 3 after taking avoiding action, to stop himself from driving directly into a stricken Oscar Piastri.

Piastri crashed ahead of him at the blind corner, meaning Ricciardo couldn’t see his fellow Aussie as he approached the corner.

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The AlphaTauri driver was left with a choice: either crash into Piastri or put himself in the wall.

Ricciardo opted for the latter but didn’t have time to take his hand off the steering wheel in time.

As a result, the steering wheel smashed his hand, leaving the driver in some considerable pain.

He has since been ruled out of the weekend and has been replaced by Liam Lawson, who’ll make his debut.

Ricciardo will also miss the Italian Grand Prix, and it is possible he’ll be forced to miss additional races.

“There was little he could do about it – he could no longer brake and he could no longer avoid Piastri,” said Tost.

“He was laughing, but not much,” the Austrian smiled. “He’s in a lot of pain because it’s a serious injury.

“I hope he can sleep tonight and he will probably see another doctor tomorrow. They will decide how to proceed.”

Ricciardo is reportedly targeting to return at the Singapore Grand Prix in three weeks’ time, although the recovery time for a “normal person” is six weeks.

It means that the 34-year-old is a definite doubt for the Italian Grand Prix next weekend, although a decision won’t be made just yet.

“We’ll see how it goes next week in Monza,” Tost told Viaplay. “Maybe he needs surgery. The doctors will decide on that in the coming days.

“The recovery for a normal person is six weeks, but he is an F1 driver and hopefully it will go a bit faster for him. We’d like him back in the car, but it’s done now.”

Ricciardo’s injury has certainly put Lawson into the spotlight, with him being a star of the future.

Lawson has an excellently opportunity to show what he can do, although Tost recognises that it “won’t be easy” for the Kiwi.

READ: F1 team principal destroys Lance Stroll with brutal comment

“You always have to be prepared – that’s part of it,” Tost said. “Liam drove the Abu Dhabi test for us last year and he’s pretty fast.

“It won’t be easy, because the field is very competitive. We are preparing him now but there is no pressure on him and he has to enjoy himself.

“Don’t crash, drive as many laps as possible and get used to the car,” the Austrian added. “The rest will then come naturally.”

The post Will Daniel Ricciardo race again in 2023? appeared first on Formula1News.co.uk.

In December 2022, having watched Ferrari’s championship hopes implode, then-team boss Mattia Binotto resigned.

Charles Leclerc ended up finishing that season a whopping 146 points behind Max Verstappen.

It was a confirmation of Red Bull’s dominance that has been reiterated once again this season.

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Binotti was replaced by Alfa Romeo’s Fred Vasseur.

According to paddock rumours, this change in management swayed assistant team principal, Laurent Mekies, into his decision to leave. 

Mekies has moved on to AlphaTauri, where he will take the reins from the current team principal, Franz Tost, when the time comes.

Meanwhile, Ferrari also announced that Diego Ioverno will be taking the helm as its new sporting director.

However, Williams racer Jack Aitken has questioned how this management turnover will affect Scuderia’s drivers.

He believes that this high-profile move will put a heavy weight on them – in a period when they are struggling for form.

The team currently sits in P4 in the Constructor Standings.

Aitken said: “It can do, it just depends.

“Ultimately the driver is not really a part of that upper echelon of the management so it’s not going to directly affect the driver.

“It will affect them in the sense of how that new management comes in and makes their presence felt.

“How smooth is the transition going to be, are they going to be able to take the reins as effectively as Laurent Mekies.

“It’s a bit of a question mark. And that’s not really what you want in a performance-orientated scenario.

“But it’s just another question mark at the end of the day.”

Ferrari is not seeing the same sort of grand shake-up that fellow F1 team Alpine is currently experiencing.

Alpine team principal Otmar Szafnauer, technical director, Pat Fry, and sporting director, Alan Permane all left the squad.

READ: Lando Norris reveals unusual side business

This has led to much speculation that the Renault-owned team may have to leave F1.

Aitken is less dramatic about the future of Ferrari.

He stated: “You hope that everything will transition smoothly, that you’ll come out with a better result at the end with this new change of personnel, but you can’t really be sure.”

The post Why uncertainty is hanging over Ferrari and its drivers appeared first on Formula1News.co.uk.

In an interview with ESPN, Horner humorously coined the term “Tosted” to describe the experience of encountering Tost’s commanding presence.

Reflecting on the diverse array of personalities in the sport, Horner drew parallels between the current generation of team principals and the renowned figures who once dominated the Formula 1 landscape. 

Horner recollected, “When I first came into the sport, there was Ron Dennis, there was Flavio Briatore, there was Eddie Jordan, there was Jean Todt, there was Bernie Ecclestone running it, there was Max Mosley there, Frank Williams, some really big characters and personalities.”

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Acknowledging the shifting dynamics of Formula 1 management, Horner observed a gradual transition from an emphasis on entrepreneurial prowess to a more technical orientation. 

As a result, he positioned himself and Toto Wolff as figures who bring a different, more traditional dimension to the modern paddock. 

He mused, “So I suppose Toto and myself are perhaps two of the more dinosaur-type of characters compared to some of them, even though I’m still on the younger side of the team principals.”

Horner’s playful description of Tost’s formidable presence brings a touch of lightheartedness to the sport’s dynamic landscape. 

Tost’s impact and reputation as a team principal have clearly left an impression on Horner, as he humorously remarked, “Franz Tost. 

“You know when you’ve been Tosted.”

Tost only has a few months left in his current role in the Formula 1 paddock, leaving his position at AlphaTauri after 17 years at the helm.

READ: Sergio Perez breaks his silence on Alpine sacking

Stepping away from AlphaTauri, Tost will be replaced by Ferrari’s Laurent Mekies, while Peter Bayer will become the Red Bull junior team’s new CEO.

Tost will, undoubtedly, be disappointed to be stepping away from AlphaTauri after one of the team’s most disappointing seasons in the sport.

While Red Bull is riding high at the top of the standings, AlphaTauri is languishing in last place.

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