, hMax Verstappen is the most dominant driver in F1 at the moment. As much as he impressed everyone with his skills in 2023, he first burst into the scene back in 2015 with Toro Rosso, Red Bull’s sister team. Now, Franz Tost, former Toro Rosso boss opens up about how Verstappen felt when he first drove the F1 car before embarking on his legendary career.
Tost said in Beyond the Grid podcast, “The second free practice was in São Paulo. I don’t remember exactly in which corner. But he had a moment of oversteer somewhere. He lost the rear end but regained control of the car without any problems.”
Max Verstappen at the age of 16 made his Formula 1 free practice debut at Suzuka in 2014 pic.twitter.com/VlL1drS9oP https://t.co/Rk5y9qm221
— Matt³³⁺¹⁶ (@FM1_3316) June 10, 2023
He added, “Max wasn’t impressed by the speed just had it under control. That was decisive. It was very impressive that he immediately found the speed with so few laps.”
This came after Red Bull’s decision to put Max Verstappen in a car so early [age-wise] attracted a lot of criticism. However, the current three-time world champion proved his worth.
Now the same driver reigns supreme in F1 as he claimed 44 wins in the last three seasons. Along with this, he picked up 19 wins in a single season, and recorded ten back-to-back GP victories in 2023. As Verstappen continues to dominate, he now sees his former boss leave the sport.
Max Verstappen’ s former boss Franz Tost retires from F1
Franz Tost, one of the longest tenured team principals in F1 history left the sport at the end of the 2023 season. Tost joined the Red Bull fraternity in 2005 when Red Bull acquired Minardi. As Christian Horner took over the reigns at Red Bull, Tost got the opportunity to lead their sister team, Toro Rosso.
What a welcome on his final day
AlphaTauri salute Franz Tost #F1 #AbuDhabiGP pic.twitter.com/Y0eNawhJE4
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 26, 2023
However, after 18 years in charge, Tost decided to leave after the 2023 season. The 67-year-old had his best results with the team when Toro Rosso/ AlphaTauri secured sixth position in the 2008, 2019, and 2021 F1 seasons.
Tost is set to be Red Bull’s stand-by consultant, as revealed by Dr. Helmut Marko to Sports Illustrated. Ferrari’s sporting director Laurent Mekies will take Tost’s place in AlphaTauri from the 2024 F1 season.
