Retiring F1 boss names standout talents during his stint apart from Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel

AlphaTauri F1 team boss Franz Tost mentioned that apart from Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel, he was very impressed by Carlos Sainz and Daniel Ricciardo during their time with the team under his leadership.

Like the many Red Bull F1 drivers on the grid, Ricciardo and Sainz also drove for the Toro Rosso [now AlphaTauri] team before driving for bigger names in the sport. Almost all the Red Bull Academy drivers on the grid have proved their mettle in the junior team under the tutelage of Franz Tost.

Speaking with PlanetF1 in an exclusive interview, Tost said:

“I must say many drivers were really very, very good. Apart from Sebastian and Max, also Carlos Sainz did a fantastic job. Pierre Gasly, Daniel Ricciardo and, also now, Yuki Tsunoda. Jean-Eric Vergne, too, you know he won the Formula E championship which shows he is very skilled."

Tost added:

"Sebastien Buemi won the Le Mans 24 Hours a couple of times. There were really many drivers, not only successful in F1 but in other categories. I’m happy if I meet with them, talk a little bit with them, and I’m satisfied if they win in any other category.”

He also spoke about what Deitrich Mateschitz about the junior drivers and added:

This was never a frustration because this is what Mateschitz expected from me there. He said, ‘Look, please educate these young drivers’. It’s the other way around here. I was really satisfied when the driver stepped up to Red Bull Racing and when they were successful, yeah.

AlphaTauri F1 team boss speaks on receiving offers from other teams

The Austrian is one of the longest-serving F1 team bosses on the grid currently and will retire post this season. He stated that he got many offers from other teams during the years but he declined each one.

Tost said:

“No, no, no, I got many offers from other teams. But first of all, loyalty is an important factor in my life philosophy. Secondly, I was always involved in important projects regarding our team, whether that was a new building or it was anything else. I didn’t want to go away. And it was always a very interesting time. It was never boring, because there was always a lot of work to do and therefore I didn’t want to miss one minute of this time.”

Franz Tost will be replaced in the team by Ferrari's Laurent Mekies next season.