Marko hails Tost for Verstappen, Vettel F1 success

Franz Tost took part in his final race as AlphaTauri Team Principal at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last weekend and was hailed by his peer Dr Helmut Marko.

Tost has been at the helm of the Red Bull sister squad ever since its inception in 2006 when it ran under the guise of Toro Rosso.

During his time overseeing the day-to-day operations of the squad, it has won two races - the Italian Grand Prix in 2008 and 2020 with Sebastian Vettel and Pierre Gasly respectively.

Vettel would go on to win four World Championships with Red Bull while Max Verstappen has so far secured three titles, progressing to the senior team after driving for Tost at Toro Rosso in 2015.

Marko has hailed Tost for the guidance he delivered Vettel and Verstappen before their moves to Red Bull.

"The two World Champions we brought in went to school with him," Marko told Sky Sports Germany. "Franz used to say, 'It takes three years for someone to mature in Formula 1'.

“However, I told him that Vettel and Verstappen would not need three years, one year of training was enough for them."

"But thanks to Franz's great training, they were championship material almost immediately when they made the switch to Red Bull."

Consultant role

Although Tost will have less of a trackside impact, the Austrian will continue to offer support to the team as a consultant.

As he departs his Team Principal role, Marko revealed that the son of the late Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz will supply Tost with a special gift.

“Mark Mateschitz already handed him - symbolically - a model car. He will receive the complete car [in the future].

“In 2024 and 2025 he will remain on standby as a consultant. That means that if we need him, he can be contacted.

“Other than that, apart from Formula 1, he is free to do whatever we want. As a Tyrolean [a region in Austrian], he deserves to go skiing again after 18 years of F1.