Tost has spent 18 years at the helm of the Faenza outfit formerly known as Toro Rosso. In its role as a Red Bull junior team, Tost has notably presided over Sebastian Vettel, Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo, Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon.
He was also a big backer of Tsunoda, who in 2024 will contest his fourth season for the team. The current AlphaTauri racer reckons Tost’s “backup” was key to him remaining on the right path, saying: “Obviously, without Franz, I'm not here [in F1]. He is definitely giving me a lot of advice every race.
“Even in the bad moments, good moments, we share with each other the happiness or sadness. He is always the biggest supporter in the team.
“He always trusts my talent, my speed, everything. Even in the first half of the season when I was struggling in my first year, still he was believing that I can do it. Without that kind of good backup, I wouldn't have been able to develop as much as a driver.
“Probably I would rush much more and just lost the way I should have gone. How he treated in that time was really helpful.”
Source: Autosport