Daniel Ricciardo opens up on senior retirement

Daniel Ricciardo talks about retirement.

Franz Tost is stepping down after leading AlphaTauri for 13 years and will be replaced by former Ferrari race director Laurent Mekies.

Daniel Ricciardo has admitted that AlphaTauri will miss Franz Tost “a lot” as the 2023 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will be his last race as team principal. Toast has led the Faenza team since joining the Formula 1 system in 2006, before opting for permanent retirement.

Since then he has watched an incredible amount of footage. Ricardo Tost hopes to “make the leap”. He first rode for sister team Red Bull in 2012. At the time, he was a young driver aspiring to reach the pinnacle of motorsport.

Ricardo still remembers his first interaction with Tost and how he walked “smiling” into the former team leader’s office, earning an amused look from Tost. Riccardo Tost is a Red Bull consultant in many ways Dr. I think it’s the same with King. Helmut Marko said that these two helped him “grow up faster and eventually grow up”.

The eight-time Formula 1 champion revealed how Tost attends “every report” as racing is “his passion”. Not being up front at AlphaTauri would be quite surprising for the team and it will take some time for the team to get used to it.

“Let me say this out loud. I think he’s been everything to the team since his Toro Rosso days or his first full season in F1,” Ricciardo told the official F1 website.

“I remember the first time we met in his office and I walked in smiling. I think he saw me…he was trying to prepare me for what was coming. It’s a tough sport, it’s an old world. “I think he was also very loyal to me, which allowed me to … get a bit faster and finally improve, just like [Red Bull consultant] Helmut [Marco].”