“The paddock and pits are at their limit in terms of space” – AlphaTauri team principal Franz Tost considers impractical the idea of having three drivers per team.
Toto Wolff is a serial entrepreneur, so it is no surprise when he comes with new ideas, one after the other. This time, he has suggested adding one rookie/young driver to the teams, taking the driver’s tally in the grid to 30.
It sounds too much to ask for, and it is no surprise AlphaTauri has rejected the idea outright. Their team principal Franz Tost finds it impractical, and would rather send the driver in question to other racing series like DTM and IndyCar.
“There have always been too few seats in Formula 1. At the moment, there are 20 cars and the best drivers are in them.
“At Red Bull, we give the youngsters test drives in older cars. Another alternative would be to let them drive another season in F2, or in DTM or Indycar. You can also make your way from these series. Those who are really talented will end up in Formula 1 at some point.
“I don’t see the third car. That starts with who is going to finance it. Besides, the paddock and pits are at their limit in terms of space. I don’t even know where to put the third car.
“Basically, good drivers are coming up from Formula 2. For us, it’s Liam Lawson and Juri Vips, who will also contest the young driver test in Abu Dhabi. Lawson with us, Vips with Red Bull Racing.
“Formula 2 has a great line-up this year. Oscar Piastri (Alpine), Theo Pourchaire (Sauber), Robert Shwartzman (Ferrari) and our two juniors are certainly the drivers of the future.”
