#Tsunoda ‘really surprised’ by news of Tost’s impending AlphaTauri departure as De Vries pays tribute to ‘very passionate’ team boss

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Tsunoda really surprised by news of Tosts impending AlphaTauri departure as De Vries pays tribute to very passionate team boss

Yuki Tsunoda has admitted the news that Franz Tost will leave his role as AlphaTauri Team Principal at the end of the 2023 Formula 1 season took him by surprise – and he is now determined to help the Austrian veteran finish his reign “in a positive way”. Ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, it was communicated that Tost is to step aside and take on a consultancy role for 2024, with current Ferrari Assistant Team Principal and Race Director Laurent Mekies moving over to take his place. READ MORE: Ferrari’s Mekies to replace Tost as AlphaTauri Team Principal as Peter Bayer named new CEO Further changes at the Faenza-based team – who have been led by Tost since the 2006 season – will see former FIA F1 Executive Director Peter Bayer become their new CEO. Asked about Tost’s exit, Tsunoda said: “It was really surprising news for me. I had lunch with him like five days before that news, or something like that, and actually he didn’t mention about those things. Tost has played a key role in Tsunoda’s development during his early seasons in F1 “I was surprised… At the same time, there were already kind of rumours from the beginning of the season, and it actually came kind of true that he is stepping down. Still, there are [20] races to go to make him happy! Hopefully we can end the season in a positive way for him. To do that, obviously we need lots of development, but we have an aggressive plan to do it. “I’m looking forward to it and at the same time feeling really kind of appreciative to him that he trusted my speed in the last three years and he was always supportive next to me. I’ll try to make it up for him in the next races.” ANALYSIS: The big moves at AlphaTauri explained as Mekies prepares to replace Tost Tsunoda’s team mate, rookie Nyck de Vries, also expressed his appreciation to Tost for helping him make his full-time F1 debut in 2023 off the back of an impressive stand-in performance with Williams at last year’s Italian Grand Prix. “I’m very grateful to Franz for his role in giving me the opportunity here in Formula 1,” said De Vries. “I think we have a really good relationship. We all really appreciate all the work he has done over the past 18 years. He really lives for the team, for his people and for the sport. He’s very passionate and we all value that very much in Franz. Tost’s place at AlphaTauri will be taken by current Ferrari man Mekies “Apart from that, obviously I haven’t been part of this, so I don’t know any of the details, but I guess after 18 years there is always a beginning and an end to everything. Each time is defined in an era and maybe a new era is about to start.” As for that new era, De Vries added that he would be excited to work with Mekies and work together to push the team back up the F1 standings after the fall to ninth out of 10 teams in the constructors’ standings last year. EXPLAINED: Everything you need to know about the 2023 F1 Sprint format “Laurent and I know each other a little bit from the FIA, he used to be at Toro Rosso as a race engineer, then worked at the FIA, and we have a bit of a relationship,” the Dutchman commented. “I welcome him very much and I would love to work together with him. “He will bring knowledge from his current employer, which is obviously interesting, and he has a very good, technical understanding of the sport. I think that will bring us very valuable assets for the team to hopefully become more competitive.” via Formula 1 News https://www.formula1.com

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Tost names the fastest drivers he has worked with in F1 as he prepares for retirement

As he gets set to head into retirement and depart from his current post as AlphaTauri Team Principal at the end of the season, Franz Tost has revealed who is the fastest of all the race-winning drivers he has worked with over the years. Tost became Team Principal of AlphaTauri (formerly Toro Rosso) in 2005 when Red Bull acquired Minardi. Since then, the Austrian has overseen the rise of not just the team, but also many of the Red Bull Academy drivers who have made it in Formula 1. READ MORE: AlphaTauri boss Tost explains timing of departure announcement and choice to bring Ferrari's Mekies on board Those drivers include world champions Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel, as well as race winners Daniel Ricciardo, Carlos Sainz, and Pierre Gasly, along with other drivers on the grid such as Alex Albon and current AlphaTauri racer Yuki Tsunoda. And, ahead of the Miami Grand Prix, Tost was asked which one of these drivers was the fastest, to which he replied: “Of course it’s easy to say. I could say now Max Verstappen; I could say Sebastian Vettel. “They were the fastest because otherwise they wouldn’t have won so many races and championships, but there were also other drivers. They were not much slower, but maybe they were at the wrong time in the wrong team or whatever, but these two are the best, of course.” When asked how he reflected on 18 years working with these drivers, Tost said: “I think, when Dietrich Mateschitz decided to buy the Minardi team, he said one of the main pillars is to educate the young Red Bull drivers, and this is what the team did. READ MORE: Tsunoda ‘really surprised’ by news of Tost’s impending AlphaTauri departure as De Vries pays tribute to ‘very passionate’ team boss “Looking back, there were some very high-skilled drivers like Sebastian Vettel, then, of course, Verstappen. I know they won many races, championships and so on, but there are also some other drivers, they were really fast, like Carlos Sainz, like Pierre Gasly, Ricciardo, Daniel, and now Yuki Tsunoda. “And there are a couple of drivers, they really improved a lot in the time, and they were in our team and they did a very professional job, they developed themselves and that’s good to see.” via Formula 1 News https://www.formula1.com

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Vasseur concedes Mekies upcoming move to AlphaTauri was difficult to refuse after open discussion

Frederic Vasseur has insisted that he would never “block” Laurent Mekies from taking a “mega opportunity” to head up AlphaTauri, but says conditions over his release from Ferrari still need to be worked out. AlphaTauri announced ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix that Mekies is set to join them as their new Team Principal, with Franz Tost stepping aside after more than 15 years in the role. ANALYSIS: The big moves at AlphaTauri explained as Mekies prepares to replace Tost Offering Ferrari’s take on the situation in Baku, team boss Vasseur said: “First of all, I think it’s a mega opportunity for Laurent, considering also like this that I have a good relationship with him, and I won’t block Laurent, for sure. “Then I think it’s also… If you speak about timeline, I think that Toro Rosso [AlphaTauri] was probably a bit aggressive on the press release. We have a long-term contract with Laurent, and we’ll have to discuss about details.” Pushed on when Mekies informed him about the AlphaTauri opportunity, Vasseur laughed: “This is the relationship between Laurent and myself and I won’t disclose details! “But we had a very open discussion on this, because I know Laurent for 30 years, and I think that it’s very difficult to refuse this kind of proposal for him.” With Mekies’ impending exit following news that Head of Vehicle Concept David Sanchez is on his way to McLaren, Vasseur was keen to play down the effect of the changes across the wider Ferrari organisation. READ MORE: Tsunoda ‘really surprised’ by news of Tost’s impending AlphaTauri departure as De Vries pays tribute to ‘very passionate’ team boss “To lose two persons [from] 1,600, it’s not a drama,” he said. “You know that the power of the team is always more important, and the power of the group, than the individuals. We have to keep this in mind, that the most important is the group – the group is there. “We are recruiting massively. We are not communicating, but we are recruiting massively. We will do [it] step by step because you can’t put an organisation in place in two weeks. You know perfectly the system of the recruitment in F1, it’s quite long and painful. “But we are working on it… Don’t expect that one day you will have a new organisation; it will be step by step and we are putting something in place.” via Formula 1 News https://www.formula1.com

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AlphaTauri boss Tost explains timing of departure announcement and choice to bring Ferrari's Mekies on board

After AlphaTauri’s sudden announcement that Team Principal Franz Tost will step away at the end of the season to make way for Ferrari’s Sporting Director Laurent Mekies, Tost has explained the team’s decision to announce his impending departure – and their choice of successor. Tost became Team Principal of the Italian-based squad – then Toro Rosso – in 2005 after Red Bull acquired Minardi. The Austrian, now 67 years old, said his decision to depart was made two years ago. Next season, Mekies will replace him and Tost’s compatriot Peter Bayer will step in as CEO. READ MORE: Tsunoda ‘really surprised’ by news of Tost’s impending AlphaTauri departure as De Vries pays tribute to ‘very passionate’ team boss Tost explained: “No, it was my decision and started already two years ago. [I] discussed it already with Dietrich Mateschitz in those days, because I am 67 years old and when I was younger I always said to myself: ‘If you’re in a leading position, you should not glue on the seat, then you should give this position to younger people, more clever people, creative people, motivated people’. “And now that I am going into [my] 70s its time to say goodbye; I love Formula 1… but it’s a story that has to end and especially now with the solution of Peter Bayer as CEO and Laurent Mekies [as Team Principal] we have two fantastic people who will replace me. I think it’s the best time to go out from Formula 1. “I made it clear that by 70 I will not be in the pit lane, this was very clear.” Franz Tost and then-Toro Rosso driver Sebastian Vettel in 2008 He added: “Laurent started with us and I remember joking with him five, six or seven years ago, ‘Laurent, you must go now to another team just to be educated and to learn something new – and then you come back’. “But I was joking. And now he’s coming back. Fantastic.” WATCH: Nyck de Vries and Pierre Gasly crash out of Azerbaijan Grand Prix qualifying The veteran boss did admit that the announcement was planned for later in the year, however, and not for this early stage of the season. “So the announcement, to tell you the truth, was not planned to come up now, but there was some leaks in the press, and I didn’t want to come here to Baku and tell you ‘no, I don’t know anything’, because this is not the way that I am working. It was planned to a later time in the year and now it’s out – and of course I can imagine that some people are not happy with this.” Yuki Tsunoda took the team's first point of 2023 The team boss added that while he plans to take on a consultancy role at AlphaTauri, he will “step back” as soon as he can and let Mekies take the lead. “I am not the person to tell someone what to do; they know it," he said. "This is also a personal wish from my side. The team needs to step up and come to another level. I am there for 18 years, and this is good, it was also my intention to bring in new people, new ideas. Formula 1 is developing very fast, they [Bayer and Mekies] have maybe different points of view, and they should do it and I am convinced they can do it much better than myself. Therefore, it's better if I shut my mouth.” As for whether Mekies will face a period of gardening leave and be able to join AlphaTauri for the start of the 2024 season, Tost maintained: “This is something Ferrari and Laurent have to sort out, it has nothing to do with us.” The Team Principal – a keen skier – added that he plans to move back to Austria, splitting his time between Innsbruck and Vienna. For now, he leads AlphaTauri as they aim to add to the point that Yuki Tsunoda earned in Australia. via Formula 1 News https://www.formula1.com