AlphaTauri F1 boss Franz Tost rubbishes rumors of the team being up for sale
Franz Tost, team principal of AlphaTauri, has said that rumors of a possible sale of the F1 team are 'without foundation'.
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AlphaTauri team principal Franz Tost
Earlier this week, rumors emerged that AlphaTauri F1 were under ‘observation’ by the Red Bull management. Their current model of operation, with the headquarters in Faenza, Italy, and the aerodynamics department being in Bicester, England, was deemed inefficient. In addition to this, they also utilize the Red Bull wind tunnel in Bedford. Last season, they finished P9 in the standings.
This was quite a step down from their performances in the past few years, and their worst championship finishes since 2018 (also P9). Plus, they actually cost the parent company more money to run than the main team does. All this meant, as per AMuS, that there were two options understood to be on the table: Sale or relocation to England. Reportedly, the management believed that AlphaTauri does not hold enough value in its current state.
Red Bull themselves had brought the team from Minardi back in 2005, to serve as their ‘junior’ team. Among the candidates who could buy AlphaTauri from Red Bull were Andretti, Mumbai Falcons, and Hitech. But there’s some good news for them. The first of the options appears to have been ruled out if it was even being considered in the first place. AlphaTauri’s team principal, Franz Tost has confirmed that Red Bull will continue to support the team.
Franz Tost: Red Bull will continue supporting AlphaTauri
As per The Race, AlphaTauri’s team principal, Franz Tost said: “I had some very good meetings with Oliver Mintzlaff, who confirmed that the shareholders will not sell Scuderia AlphaTauri, and that Red Bull will continue supporting the team in the future. All these rumours have no foundation, and the team has to remain focused for the start of the season to perform better than last year.”
So while a sale has been ruled out, for now at least, the team definitely still need to step it up with their performance. Last season, while Red Bull won their first constructors’ championship since 2013 in dominant fashion, AlphaTauri struggled. As mentioned before, they only managed a 9th-place finish. Which is definitely not good enough.
In 2023, improvements will be needed, but they’ll have to do it without their ‘main man’ Pierre Gasly. In his place, Yuki Tsunoda and new arrival Nyck de Vries will have to step up. Considering its de Vries’ first season in the sport, and Tsunoda’s third, they are both fighting for their future. That is because the Japanese driver has not really convinced everyone. It’ll be interesting to see how far AlphaTauri can go with de Vries and Tsunoda at the helm.
In case you missed it:
- “15-point deduction for AlphaTauri” – Fans react as Yuki Tsunoda gets a custom Juventus jersey following a guest appearance at Allianz Arena
- Max Verstappen believes that Nyck De Vries is ‘exactly what AlphaTauri needs’ right now
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Aniket Tripathi
(1002 Articles Published)