Franz Tost stops as team boss at AlphaTauri van Nyck de Vries | formula 1

Tost will be succeeded by Laurent Mekies, currently sporting director at Ferrari. The date on which Mekies will take over Tost’s activities is yet to be determined. In addition, Peter Bayer, former FIA chief executive, will join the team as CEO.

Tost has been involved with the team, formerly Toro Rosso, since 2005 and will remain with the team next year in an advisory role. “I want to thank Dietrich Mateschitz for the opportunity he has given me over the past eighteen years to be team principal of Scuderia Toro Rosso and Scuderia AlphaTauri. It was a real privilege to lead the team for so long and to work with so many motivated people,” he said on the Formula 1 team’s website.

“At 67 years old, it is time to hand over the baton. With Peter as the new CEO and Laurent as the new team principal, the team has found two very professional people who will take the team to the next level,” said Tost.

AlphaTauri is currently the team of Nyck de Vries, who, according to technical director Jody Egginton, absolutely meets expectations on a technical level. “We can see from everything that he has a lot of experience in motorsport. His feedback is good. Nyck forms a clear picture of what he wants with the car and that helps us move forward in the development.”

De Vries is working on his debut season in Formula 1. He earned a spot with Red Bull’s sister team after an impressive substitution in the Italian Grand Prix last year. AlphaTauri counted on De Vries’ experience in other racing classes to come in handy for the team. The 28-year-old Frisian won the championship in Formula 2 and Formula E, among other things. De Vries forms a couple with the Japanese Yuki Tsunoda at AlphaTauri. “Both drivers have been very clear about what the car does and what they want from it, and they are also quite on the same page,” Egginton said. motorsport.com. “That makes our development process a little easier.”

The results of De Vries and Tsunoda are still a bit disappointing this season. With a fourteenth place twice and a retirement in the last race in Melbourne, De Vries is still without World Cup points. Tsunoda only collected 1 point. “I have the feeling that we are making progress”, says the Dutchman in the run-up to the upcoming Grand Prix of Azerbaijan. “In midfield, the differences between the teams are very small. It is quite a challenge to fight for points. I know the Baku circuit from my time in Formula 2. The circuit demands a lot of speed on the straights and our car has so far fallen short of that”, says De Vries.