Tsunoda surprised by Tost's departure: 'Hadn't said anything five days ago'

Yuki Tsunoda did not expect Franz Tost to leave as team boss at AlphaTauri. The 22-year-old driver says in Azerbaijan that the news came as a bolt from the blue for him.

"Yes, I was really surprised," Tsunoda said at the pre-weekend press conference in Baku, where GPblog is present. The Japanese had not seen the news coming at all. "I had lunch with him five days before that news or something like that, and actually, he didn't mention those things, so yeah, I was surprised."

Nyck de Vries's teammate did know that rumours had been around since the start of the season. It was announced on Wednesday that Tost will quit as team boss after 2023. "But still there are 19 races to go to make him happy. Hopefully, we can end the season in a positive way for him. We need a lot of development, but yeah, we have an aggressive plan to do it and are looking forward to it."

Tsunoda thanks Tost

Tsunoda is sorry that Tost is quitting. He speaks fine words about the 67-year-old Austrian who gave him the chance to debut in the king class of motorsport. "At the same time, I really appreciate him that he trusts my speed over the last three years. He was always supportive next to me. So yeah, I'm trying to make it up for him next races."

Laurent Mekies, who comes over from Ferrari, will be AlphaTauri's new team boss from 2024.