AlphaTauri’s Franz Tost: “The team made a big step forward in all areas”

Franz Tost congratulated his former driver Max Verstappen for winning the 2021 Formula 1 World Drivers’ Championship, while Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda also ended the year on a high as both Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly finished inside the top five in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Verstappen raced for the team when it was known as Scuderia Toro Rosso between 2015 and round four of the 2016 season before he moved on to Red Bull Racing, and Tost, the Team Principal of the team now known as AlphaTauri, said he deserved the title for the way he performed throughout the season.

“What an unbelievable race for the final round here in Abu Dhabi,” said Tost.  “Congratulations to Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing and Honda for winning the World Championship title, they did an incredible job during the year and Max really deserved this.

“This year he was the fastest driver and the team did a fantastic job.”

Both Tsunoda and Gasly had superb drives in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, with the Japanese racer moving up from eighth to fourth and the Frenchman from twelfth to fifth.  The two drivers used different strategies, and both were able to pass Valtteri Bottas on the final lap to claim a season high twenty-two points.

AlphaTauri ended the year with a record number of points across a season, with Tost proud of the way they made a big step forward in all areas across the season.  He also is looking to continue this momentum into 2022, when the new aerodynamic regulations come into effect.

“We are also happy from our side, because today we brought home a very good race result, the best of the year, and collected 22 points with Yuki in fourth and Pierre in fifth position, having started the race in eighth and twelfth,” said Tost.

“We mixed up the strategy, with Yuki starting the race on the Mediums whilst Pierre was on a new set of hard tyres. Both of them did a very clever first stint and managed their tyres very well.

“Pierre got caught up behind [Fernando] Alonso, I think he could’ve been much faster but nevertheless, thanks to the safety car and very good strategy decisions, the team managed to cross the chequered flag with both drivers in the top 5.

“We finish the season on 142 points, this is the highest we’ve ever scored in the history of the team and only thirteen points behind Alpine. The team made a big step forward in all areas and I’m now really looking forward to next year with hopefully a competitive new car to fight for strong positions.”