AlphaTauri boss leaving after 18 years in charge of Red Bull's sister F1 team

Frank Tost will leave AlphaTauri at the end of the season after 18 years in charge of the F1 team, it has been announced.

The 67-year-old is the second-longest serving team principal on the grid, behind only Red Bull’s Christian Horner, and has been in charge of the Italian side since their inception in 2005.

The announcement was made on Wednesday, ahead of this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix, with Laurent Mekies, currently Sporting Director at Ferrari, to replace Tost as team principal, while former FIA executive Peter Bayer will join AlphaTauri as their new CEO later this year.

Tost had recently hinted that he was nearing retirement but will remain with the team in a consultancy role for 2024.

AlphaTauri, previously known as Toro Rosso, began life in 2005 when Red Bull purchased the ailing Minardi team – just a year after they took over the bankrupt Jaguar outfit.

They made their debut the following year and have since raced in 332 grand prix, picking up five podiums and two wins in that time, both at their home race in Italy courtesy of Sebastian Vettel in 2008 and Pierre Gasly in 2020.

But their purpose has never been to win races, rather they have operated as Red Bull’s sister team, giving young drivers a chance to prove their worth and gain experience ahead of a potential move to the senior outfit.

Tost has therefore overseen the start of the careers of many of the sport’s best drivers from the last decade or so, including world champions Vettel and Max Verstappen.

Other names to come through Toro Rosso/AlphaTauri include Gasly, Daniel Ricciardo, Carlos Sainz Jr., Alex Albon and Daniil Kvyat, as well as these season’s drivers Yuki Tsunoda and Nyck de Vries.

‘First of all, I would like to thank Dietrich Mateschitz [Red Bull’s founder who died in 2022], who gave me the incredible opportunity to be Team Principal of Scuderia Toro Rosso and Scuderia AlphaTauri for the past 18 years,’ Tost said.

‘It has been a true privilege to lead the Team for such a long period and a great pleasure to work with so many motivated and skilled people, who share my passion for Formula 1.

‘With 67 years old it is time to hand over and with Peter as new CEO and Laurent as Team Principal, we found two very professional people, who will bring the Team to the next level. I want to thank everyone for the good cooperation.’

AlphaTauri are ninth in the 2023 standings after three races, having scored just one point so far.

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