Scuderia AlphaTauri F1 team principal Franz Tost has made no secret of his desire to sign Mick Schumacher. And he says so about his F1 interest in Germany.
AlphaTauri F1 team principal Franz Tost, who celebrated his 67th birthday on January 20, was doing what he loved most: his job.
“As usual, I went to work at 7 o’clock and came home after dark.”
Franz Tost, who has lived in Faenza, near Bologna, for 17 years, said: “Test runs start in Bahrain at the end of February. Our car has to work then. Of course my mood depends on that.”
The presentation of Scuderia AlphaTauri’s 2023 F1 machine “AT04” will be held in the same New York as sister team Red Bull at the beginning of February.
“Fashion week is held there, so we go there.”
AlphaTauri is the fashion brand of the Red Bull Group and the main sponsor of the junior team.
Austrian-born Franz Tost is known for his clear words, having spent most of his motorsport career there, keeping his eyes on Germany.
Franz Tost, who began his career with Willy Weber’s Formula 3 team where brothers Michael and Ralf Schumacher started their careers, went on to become BMW’s longtime F1 logistics chief.
Having experienced the F1 boom in Germany in the 1990s and the first decade of the new millennium up close, Franz Tost has a clear opinion as to why the interest in the country among poets and thinkers is currently rather weak. ing.
“Germany are spoiled. You can feel it in football,” said Franz Tost.
“I’m sure the lack of interest at the last World Cup has something to do with the poor performance of the national team. Half of Germany would also watch Qatar’s game if they made it to the knockout stages. it would be”
“One thing is for sure, people need heroes. They need real heroes, not metal.”
“At the time, they wanted to see Michael Schumacher win, not Mercedes engines and cars. Heroes are the only thing that makes a boom, just like Michael Schumacher did.”
“The second example is Boris Becker. Before him, the interest in tennis was rather for the wealthy. came to want to play tennis.”
According to Franz Tost, Mick Schumacher could have sparked a new euphoria in Germany.
“He could have been a new hero, but unfortunately he is now gone from the premier class. So I wanted to see him in AlphaTauri,” says Franz Tost.
“Because it’s not just about winning Formula 3 and Formula 2 championships, but unfortunately in the end it didn’t work out.”
Ferrari junior driver Mick Schumacher didn’t fit into Red Bull’s structure. And Nick de Vries won the spot.
Mick Schumacher’s appointment as reserve driver for Mercedes F1 is not bad news.
But Franz Tost says, “If you don’t always have attention, you won’t really get attention from the public, and only drivers can do that.”
“It’s important for Mick to find a way back to the starting grid as soon as possible. It’s not impossible, but it’s not easy either.”
One thing is certain, Mick Schumacher’s comeback will be very important to interest in F1 in Germany.
“Mick’s career determines his interest in Germany. Nico Hulkenberg cannot do it alone,” said Franz Tost.
At 35 and already on the home stretch of his career, Nico Hulkenberg is a regular driver for the mediocre Haas F1 team. He replaced Mick Schumacher there. For F1’s interest in Germany it was probably a bad change.
Category: F1 / Alpha Tauri / Michael Schumacher / Ralf Schumacher