In a few years, we could see a major change in Red Bull’s F1 team. There is a possibility that AlphaTauri boss Franz Tost could retire from his role by the end of the 2025 season. According to Yuki Tsunoda, filling the Austrian’s shoes will be a challenging task.
The Austrian has led Red Bull’s sister team since its inception as Toro Rosso in 2005. He is one of the longest-serving team principals in sports history.
As a part of his job, Tost has managed dozens of young drivers who graduated into F1 through Red Bull’s driver academy. He has mentored the likes of Daniel Ricciardo, and Carlos Sainz and world champions like Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel.
🚨 | Sebastian Vettel could be set to replace Marko as Red Bull’s advisor at the end of this season
Ted Kravitz: “I kind of think he will come back to Red Bull. I think he will replace Helmut Marko, that is more likely. As the sort of motorsport advisor.” pic.twitter.com/KwIjgWIsFl
— RBR Daily (@RedBullUpdates) April 17, 2023
Tsunoda believes the void left by a Tost upon his retirement would be challenging to fill. However, the Japanese driver credits a proven world champion and former Red Bull talent Vettel would be an ideal pick.
Yuki Tsunoda speaks about Franz Tost’s leadership
Yuki Tsunoda has a lot of admiration and respect for his team principal Franz Tost. Tost has been called an extremely strict mentor who only cares about the final result. However, the Japanese racer believes that is not true.
Tsunoda explained on the Beyond the Grid podcast, “He always points out the points that need to be improved next time. He is never too strict, he is always on our side and I appreciate that. That’s why I can develop so much as a driver.”
Earlier the Austrian claimed that he does not trust his engineers as they failed to develop a competitive car for the 2023 season. Yet, the AlphaTauri driver claims that was not what he meant. Tsunoda claims Tost will stick by his team at all times.
Franz Tost on his retirement: “I cannot specify the exact date, but I am 67 years old and I am sure that at 70 I will not be on the mute. I want to return to Austria before I turn 70 and be able to ski again.”https://t.co/eICOk1rLlh
— Junaid #JB17 (@JunaidSamodien_) March 26, 2023
The 67-year-old Tost has recently spoken about his plans to retire as team boss at the age of 70. This means, upon completing 20 years as team principal, Tost will step down from his role. This raises the question of who would replace him at AlphaTauri.
Tsunoda reckons 4-time world champion Sebastian Vettel would be an interesting pick for the job. “It would be interesting to see how he would do as a team manager,” said Tsunoda.
Tsnoda considers Vettel the perfect replacement for Helmut Marko
Sebastian Vettel retired from F1 at the end of the 2022 season. However, Yuki Tunsoda feels if the 4x world champion is ready for the job, he could lead Red Bull’s sister teams.
Vettel graduated from Red Bull’s academy. He has secured both Toro Rosso and Red Bull’s first race win and in 2010, he secured the first title for the team. Needless to say, the German is well respected within the team.
Tsunoda thinks the former driver could also be a good pick for Red Bull’s advisor. Recently, Helmut Marko’s position has come under scrutiny for critiquing Red Bull’s new Managing Director, Oliver Mintzlaff.
🗣️ | Marko has addressed the rumours of Vettel replacing him at Red Bull
“We are still in contact”
“Seb is still in the self-discovery phase at the moment, I don’t think he wants to travel to every race again and work more with significantly less pay”
[https://t.co/mNl7GoVgKl] pic.twitter.com/O71z3Bjnif
— RBR Daily (@RedBullUpdates) April 25, 2023
Tsunoda believes this could be a good stepping stone for Vettel into team management. He said, “He can do anything, for example, what Helmut Marko is doing now with the Red Bull juniors. Sebastian can be very good at looking after the Red Bull juniors as he is one of the most successful F1 drivers.”
Tsuno added, “I can see it in all the race briefings last year before qualifying. He always pointed out points we needed to improve on the track. He was always the first to raise his hand, so I think he could be that guy.”
Vettel has not commented yet regarding the rumors about replacing Marko. The German’s availability for the job is still a big question as he chose to retire from racing to spend more time with his family. Nevertheless, he will be welcome in a future Red Bull role if offered.
