Tost does not see himself as Marko's replacement: 'Absolutely not my intention'

Franz Tost is to leave as team boss of the Italian team after a long time at AlphaTauri. Tost became team principal at AlphaTauri in 2005 and has decided to stop at the end of 2023. Ferrari engineer Laurent Mekies will take over his role.

Before the weekend in Azerbaijan, it was announced that Tost will quit as AlphaTauri team boss after this season. The team boss will be replaced by Frenchman Mekies, who is leaving Ferrari. It is not yet known what Tost will do next, although at least the 67-year-old Austrian knows what he will not do.

Dr Helmut Marko, Red Bull Racing's advisor, was allowed to blow out 80 candles for his birthday last Thursday. As Marko is getting older, there are already many rumours about potential replacements for the Austrian. Sebastian Vettel was also mentioned, but Marko himself has indicated he does not see this happening for the time being.

Tost has indicated to GPblog and others that he does not see himself as a suitable candidate to replace Marko. "No, Helmut wants to stay, he wants to stay another 80 years! There is absolutely no intention from my side to take it over," said the AlphaTauri team boss.