Franz Tost on his departure: 'it's better if I shut my mouth'

Franz Tost has been team boss of AlphaTauri (under the Toro Rosso name until 2020) since 2005. It is fair to say that the Austrian is part of the furniture in Formula 1. At the end of the season, he will bid farewell to the team, with whom he shared the good and the bad.

Eighteen years is a huge time, especially in Formula 1. Constantly the spotlights are on you. Always there is the pressure of having to perform. Soon it will all fall off his shoulders. Happy that it will soon be over? Tost sees it differently: "No, my shoulders are still strong," laughs the Austrian, in conversation with GPblog and others. "And generally I like the challenge, I like the pressure, and this was not a problem, for me, not a problem.”

Training young drivers?

What Tost will do after leaving the Red Bull family, he does not yet know. Training young drivers, for example, would suit him tremendously. "Don't know yet, was asked already, but don't know yet, it's not decided. First of all, I want to take a step back, and then to see whether I will be involved in such a project or not, it's not decided yet."

One thing Tost knows for sure: he will not get involved in AlphaTauri once Laurent Mekies is in place as his successor. "Yeah, but I can tell you now I'm not the guy to look behind the shoulders of what Peter and Laurent will do. They are really very good, and they know what to do. I will be there at the beginning when they are coming, one month or so, but then 100 per cent I will step back. I am not the person to advise someone or tell someone what to do. They know it. It's also important, this is also a personal desire and wish from my side. The team has to step up, come to another level. I have been there for 18 years, and it's good."

According to Tost, it was always his idea to bring in new people. New people means new, fresh ideas: "Formula 1 is developing very fast, they have maybe different points of view, and they should do it. I am convinced they can do it much better than myself, therefore it's better if I shut my mouth."