Alpha Tauri F1 Representative "Teams that have made large-scale investments in the past have an advantage even at the budget limit"[F1-Gate .com]

Franz Tost, the team’s representative for AlphaTauri F1, feels that despite the introduction of a budget cap in F1, large teams still have the upper hand.

Last year, F1 introduced a $ 145 million budget cap, which was further tightened to $ 140 million in 2022. At this time when the next generation F1 machine is introduced, it is necessary for the F1 machine to develop a machine compatible with the new regulation within the limit.

However, Franz Tost says that large teams such as Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari will continue to benefit from past spending on modernization of facilities and resources, that is, ahead of smaller teams such as AlphaTauri F1. I feel I can do it.

“We still need to work on the infrastructure to optimize everything on this side,” Franz Tost said.

“We bought a new hall and built a new building. It will be completed in two years. Much is happening to make us jump to a good position.”

“But it’s not just us. Others are doing the same. It’s F1 and there’s a big fight everywhere.”

An important area of interest for Franz Tost is simulation technology.

“Simulation tools are becoming more and more important because they drive less on trucks,” Franz Tost points out.

“We simply don’t have it. We have enough budget, but we weren’t in a position to invest so much money in simulation tools.”

“They have invested millions in the last few years for simulation tools.”

“You need to have a simulation and we still think there are some flaws there.”

Franz Tost says all 10 teams will depend heavily on how well they interpret this year’s new regulations, and one mistake can make the difference between success and failure in 2022.

“It’s a completely new story, so it’s a very unknown story,” admits Franz Tost.

“I trust the engineers who built two great machines (in the last few years).”

“There’s no reason they can’t make the AT03 very competitive, even if it’s a completely new machine? The aerodynamic group is doing a very good job and They are heading in the right direction. “

But Franz Tost also knows that it’s not that simple.

“There is a different philosophy from a technical point of view, which cannot be compared to others at this time,” Franz Tost added.

“I hope we go in the right direction, so I don’t know where we really end up, but I trust the team.”