The engineer that AlphaTauri Team Principal Franz Tost "did not trust" has left the team, RacingNews365 has learnt. At the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in March, Tost explained that he had lost trust in his engineers following the team's slide towards the back of the grid in 2022, and subsequent poor start to the the 2023 season. The veteran boss will be stepping down at the end of 2023 to be replaced by current Ferrari number two Laurent Mekies and ex-FIA executive Peter Bayer , but revealed in Miami that the person who had lost his trust had left the team.
AlphaTauri exit
In Friday's Team Principal's press conference at Miami, Tost simply said that "the person I didn't trust anymore is out, and as you can imagine, the others I trust. Totally easy, and they do a good job." Although a team representative refused to identify the individual mentioned by Tost when approached by RacingNews365, well-placed sources allege that former Head of Aerodynamics Dickon Balmforth has departed the team. He could not be contacted for comment. Balmforth, who started his F1 career with Williams in 2003, had been at AlphaTauri since May 2018, after transferring over from Red Bull where he spent 12 years, rising to the position of Principal Aerodynamicist. According to further sources, Dr Guru Johl, has joined AlphaTauri, which is confirmed by his LinkedIn page. Johl left his role as Chief Aerodynamicist at Aston Martin in March 2023 after over eight years at the Silverstone-based outfit, and his LinkedIn profile shows him as Deputy Head of Aerodynamics at AlphaTauri - who have their aero facilities in the United Kingdom, near to the Red Bull factory. Johl began his F1 career in 2004 with Red Bull, and spent over ten years in the team's aero department before moving to Aston Martin's predecessor team Force India.
Most read
