"No, not everybody, just the w***s": When AlphaTauri team principal Franz Tost lashed out at his driver 

AlphaTauri's current team principal, Franz Tost, might seem like one of the calmest and quietest team bosses in F1, but his calm was once broken by former F1 driver Scott Speed back in 2007. Scott Speed drove for the team when it was called Toro Rosso. Speed's behavior during his last race for the team made Tost so angry that he was fired, giving the now-legendary Sebastian Vettel a seat in the F1 team.

Speaking on the Beyond the Grid podcast, Scott Speed recalled memories from his last race at the 2007 F1 European GP. It was a wet race where several cars crashed at one particular corner, including Speed himself. Nonetheless, he remembers enjoying the race quite a lot since he passed several cars and was making good moves. He said:

"I remember thinking that was super fun. I know we didn't get a result, but I passed a lot of cars. I remember passing Ralf Schumacher on the outside of one of these corners in the wet. It was so cool to feel like I had a fast car and I was making moves."

On the other hand, AlphaTauri team boss Franz Tost was not happy that Speed crashed into the wall and finished his race. When asked about the incident, Speed casually stated how he hydroplaned and went off. This broke Tost, who lashed out on the driver. Speed explained:

"I had such a great experience, and Franz [Tost] was super pissed. I was just too happy about what happened. He asked what happened in Turn 1. I said, ‘Well, the same thing that happened to everybody else down there. I hydroplaned off the track. What do you mean what happened? There's seven cars sitting out there.’ And he says ‘no, not everybody, just the w*****s.’ I told him to ‘f-off’ and I just totally dismissed him."

Speed added:

"He came chasing after me and let me know how displeased he was. I probably would have acted the same way. I showed him zero respect. I was just this young cocky kid and I finally found the limit of Franz's patience. I finally broke him."

After that race, Scott Speed was let go for the 2007 F1 season. He was replaced by Sebastian Vettel in the Toro Rosso (now AlphaTauri).

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Yuki Tsunoda shares how AlphaTauri team boss supported him

Yuki Tsunoda has now comfortably settled in AlphaTauri after three years. After he learned about the news about Franz Tost retiring from the sport, he had nothing but positive things to say about his boss. At the drivers' press conference before the 2023 Azerbaijan GP, where Sportskeeda was present, he said:

"At the same time feeling really kind of appreciative to him that he trusted my speed the last three years. And he was always supportive next to me. So, yeah, I’ll try to make it up for him the next races."

After nearly 18 years of working in AlphaTauri, Franz Tost will finally say goodbye to Formula 1. It is safe to say that there could be several changes in the Italian team after he leaves.