Franz Tost talks about the hot topics on the F1 agenda

This long interview for the official F1 site is an opportunity to discuss several important topics affecting Formula 1. In his interview, Franz Tost first talks about the officialization of Daniil Kvyat for 2017. According to Helmut Marko, it was indeed Tost who decided to keep Daniil Kvyat, but what does he say: « It was a Red Bull decision. That’s all. Daniil deserves to be present next year, he had a great performance in Singapore and was very competitive in Malaysia and Japan, with a car that has an engine with development stopped and lacking 60 to 70 horsepower! »

When asked if Red Bull is not rushing by finally announcing Daniil Kvyat when it was planned to wait until the end of the season, the Austrian responds: « There is no rush at all. Red Bull decided to do it here because we are convinced that Daniil is the right choice for 2017 and to put an end to rumors and bring stability to the team for the last four races. »

🎥 Franz and Daniil talking about 2017: 📹enjoy this video interview from our friends @Acronis 😉👏🏽➡️ https://t.co/xuOUrF9ivM https://t.co/zj2AIh4YRv

— Toro Rosso (@ToroRossoSpy) October 25, 2016

The team principal of Scuderia Toro Rosso then mentions that there are still many seats that need to be confirmed. He states: « Generally, Red Bull’s philosophy is to decide at the end of the season. This year, we did it a bit differently. We confirmed Carlos (Sainz) quite early and Daniil (Kvyat) a few days ago. »

If his team is not necessarily concerned with this problem since he mainly uses drivers from the Red Bull pool, the leader details the considerations of his counterparts: « There are a number of good drivers on the market with contracts ending at the end of the season, but of course, a decision on a driver always comes with a number of aspects. First of all, it is about the talent of the driver. Secondly, there is also the issue of the financial situation of the team. And thirdly, marketing reasons can also play a role; if you want to bring a driver into the team, it is important to have the approval of certain sponsors or that his nationality matters. Covering all these aspects is sometimes not so easy. »

He also wants to remind that this is not something new in F1, and in fact, the decision is even made earlier than in the past: I remember seasons where teams waited until the very last possible moment to sign a guy, literally before flying to the first race! So there is nothing really new, perhaps just that the number (of unconfirmed seats) is a bit high. But the struggle for the seats is only tougher.

Translate:

For Tost, the financial aspect may explain the difficulties in announcing the drivers, but it is not the only factor: « Money always plays a role in Formula One! And, of course, especially for mid-table teams and what one might call the stragglers, they have to find the best possible package, as it could be a matter of life and death. And something has changed in the recent past: a few of the top teams are now trying to influence the driver choices of some mid-table teams. And on top of that, the huge changes for 2017 make everything even more complicated. »

To continue on the financial aspect in F1, for the Austrian, this is a concern that is not new: « It has never been different. Think back to Niki Lauda. He had money to drive a March, a very mediocre car at the time. Or take Nelson Piquet: Parmalat Brazil was his backer, and they pushed for him. So nothing has changed. People tend to forget that. And, of course, when you sign a driver, you ask them if they have contacts because there are two things you always struggle with in F1, time and money. »

When choosing a driver, he explains what the procedure is: « It’s always a combination. If you’re not convinced about a driver, you don’t take them. But yes, there are sometimes situations where you’re not completely happy, you feel that maybe an element is missing. Maybe the talent is huge, but the financial side isn’t satisfying. What to do then? It comes down to the team’s philosophy, whether you take the most skilled driver and hope to sort out the financial side during the season, or you look for secure financial pillars and take a guy who’s not as good. Toro Rosso always goes for the most qualified. Red Bull would never take a second-rate driver for financial reasons. Talent is paramount. »

In the columns of the F1 site, Franz Tost explains why drivers start younger in karting than before: « It’s the development in sports, in all types of sports: skiing, ice skating, football. If you don’t have the education from that age, you are lost. It’s about the nervous system. The younger you are, the more you learn and memorize processes. You can never make up for that later. If someone tells me they’ve never done karting, but they want to break into F1, I would say it’s a joke. Because in difficult situations, when it’s a matter of milliseconds, you can’t have reactions based on conscious thought. You need to react by instinct, and that is learned at the youngest age possible. »

During this Grand Prix weekend, it was highlighted that having an American driver in F1 would increase its appeal, but none currently meet the expectations. The director is therefore asked why it is difficult for an American to arrive in F1: « It’s much more complicated than that, because it depends on a country’s motorsport culture. I am convinced that there are qualified drivers in the United States, but to do F1 you have to go to Europe at a very early age. You have to start karting by the age of seven at the latest. Otherwise, you won’t make it to F1. So, it all depends on the parents, who must be prepared to move to Europe, and who does that? What is important then is that if you have a large number of young people, you can have good selection processes in terms of quality. Maybe Liberty Media can push this forward. »

Moreover, the new 2017 regulations should allow more synergy between Red Bull and Toro Rosso, but according to Franz Tost, the effects will only be felt from 2018: « Yes, Helmut is right because Red Bull Technology has three times the number of people we have. And they finish their designs very late. So, if we want to meet the deadlines with the production of our parts, we talk about everything related to regulations until they release the designs, we wouldn’t be in the race. It’s because of the regulation changes. Otherwise, it would be easy, as we were able to do on some parts of their 2016 car. So now, we are building things ourselves and we hope that the synergies work in 2018 when we can take more parts from their 2017 car. »