'That was the only time Dietrich Mateschitz got upset at me'

Max Verstappen, Sebastian Vettel, Carlos Sainz and Daniel Ricciardo; they largely owe their F1 careers to Dietrich Mateschitz. This does not only apply to drivers. A pair of team bosses also owe much to the Red Bull co-owner, who founded Red Bull Racing and AlphaTauri (Toro Rosso) and passed away in 2022. Franz Tost came to the helm of the latter team thanks to the Austrian billionaire.

Tost first met Mateschitz in 1993, at the Nürburgring, he told GP Racing. Immediately there was a good click between the two of them, Tost can recall. It was only in 2005 that Mateschitz said to the former driver: 'Franz, you go to Italy now to build a team, use the synergies with Red Bull Technology and train young drivers'. And so it happened.

Mateschitz was 'a visionary'

"He was very easy to work with," Tost looks back on the time with Mateschitz. "I called him and he said yes or no. The decision was made in five seconds. He was a visionary. But being a visionary is one thing. He also made every project a success. You are never going to find another person like Dietrich Mateschitz."

According to Tost, it was never Mateschitz's intention to turn (then) Toro Rosso into a team that would compete for Grand Prix wins - let alone a bid for world titles. Above all, Tost's team had to train drivers, and cooperate with Red Bull. But the latter became difficult because the regulations changed: suddenly teams had to design their cars entirely by themselves. In haste, Toro Rosso had to set up their own facilities to do so.

Toro Rosso had to adopt a different working method

This did not go without a hitch: initially, for instance, containers were erected in Faenza, where the staff had to work. But Tost realised that there really needed to be additional construction on Toro Rosso's campus. That led to the only time Mateschitz got angry with the team boss.

"Because I made the decision to cut down a tree. There was a park and there was this big, old tree... I needed more working spaces. So we cut down that tree. But he loved trees. He said: 'Why, Franz? Why did you cut down that fantastic tree?' I said we needed working spaces, not trees. And he got upset. That was the only time he ever got upset with me," says Tost.