Verstappen rivals ordered to ‘give back their licences’ after complete annihilation
The former AlphaTauri team principal recalls his admiration for Max Verstappen during his scouting career for Red Bull. Franz Tost, former manager of the AlphaTauri team, was instrumental in bringing new talent into Formula 1, including Max Verstappen.
The Austrian, who took part in the talent search for the Red Bull junior team alongside Helmut Marko, remembers his first knowledge of Verstappen during Formula 3. “I remember Max was doing the Norisring [Reservation Station] when he was 16, wet, 1.5 to 2 seconds faster than the others,” he told the BBC.
And “Isaid all the drivers had to hand in their licenses, Max Verstappen was the only driver in this field.”
Tost: In general, drivers need 100-150 km, not Verstappen. Verstappen has signed a contract with Red Bull alongside Toro Rosso after the team beat rivals Mercedes to offer him an early stint in F1.
The Dutchman made his F1 debut with Toro Rosso at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix aged just 17. Tost was surprised at how quickly he adapted to the performance of a hybrid F1 car. In the first test I was very impressed with how quickly it adapted to the speed and endurance.
Basically, drivers need 100-150 km to get used to the incredible power of an F1 car when accelerating and braking. But from the first level I was used to everything. Said the Toast. And we decided that I would do FP1 at Suzuka [at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix] and the journalists said: You’re so crazy… Suzuka is one of the worst tracks.
Like the start in FP1? You should be ready. And “I said: Don’t talk too much Don, let’s talk in 5 years and you will find out who is right: you or me? So from the first year, not 5 years. .
