'Schumacher was like that and the same approach I see with Mick'

Franz Tost was happy to speak to the press on his 65th birthday. The Austrian discusses what he believes the ideal driver should possess and casually names the drivers he himself holds in high regard and esteem.

Driver always key to success

Can the driver still make the difference in today's Formula 1? With the more extensive and complex technology in the royal class of motorsport, the question of what the driver can still do to beat another team always comes up.

According to AlphaTauri team boss Tost, there is still a crucial role for the driver and it is crucial that this driver performs at his peak. Talking to F1-insider.com he says: "The driver is the person who gives the engineers the right feedback to make the car faster. Successful drivers always stay with a team longer because of that."

Schumacher was the ideal driver

According to the team boss, the team can build such a strong car, but the driver is always the key to success in Formula 1: "It provides a system, so that at a certain point they have the car completely to their liking. That's a quality that very few possess. The driver is always the key to success."

Tost believes that the ideal driver must be disciplined and innovative. According to the Austrian, the "ideal driver" always asks himself what he can do better and how he can be better than the others. Asked which drivers, according to the team boss, approach this image, he said:

"Michael Schumacher was like that, Sebastian Vettel too, and I see the same approach incidentally with Mick Schumacher."