Former Team Principal Franz Tost Confirms Talks With Red Bull Over Potential Position

Sunday, 07 January 2024 at 20:00

The 2023 AlphaTauri team principal, who retired after the season, Franz Tost, confirmed he is currently in talks with Red Bull over a consulting position.

Franz Tost has been in AlphaTauri (or Toro Rosso before rebranding) ever since the team's inception in 2006. He has been one of the longest-serving team principals in F1 and was highly valued by everybody in the paddock.

The Austrian is now 67, and apparently, he made it clear to the owner of Red Bull (who passed last year) two years ago that he did not plan on staying in F1 for much longer. He explained to F1 Insider:

“"It didn't come as a surprise. Two years ago I told Dietrich Mateschitz that I no longer wanted to be standing on the pit wall at 70. He said: Okay, but wait until we find a successor. That's what happened to Laurent Mekies and Peter Bayer. I'm leaving AlphaTauri in good hands."”

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While his whole team will miss Tost, AlphaTauri has to move forward. Laurent Mekies and Peter Bayer will cooperate together to replace the retiring team principal in his position.

Red Bull's advisor Helmut Marko, who recently prolonged his contract with the team, said he doesn't want the 67-year-old to fully retire and would like to see him in a consulting position.

The former AlphaTauri team principal has a lot of experience in F1, and his opinion could be valuable for both Red Bull and Alpha Tauri. Tost confirmed the discussions:

“"Yes, discussions for this will take place on January 15th. After that, we'll see how I will continue to work at Red Bull. Basically, I will always remain connected to motorsport, so I can certainly imagine a consulting role."”

It has not yet been confirmed whether Tost has signed a new contract with Red Bull, but if both parties are open to further collaboration, we can expect an announcement soon.