AlphaTauri Team Principal Franz Tost to Step Back at End of Year

After 23 years in the sport and 18 years at Scuderia AlphaTauri (née Toro Rosso), Franz Tost is stepping back. The team announced today that this season would be Tost's last as team Principal, with current Ferrari assistant team principal Laurent Mekies set to take over in 2024.

Tost joined the Faenza, Italy-based team as principal in 2006, its first as a sister team to Red Bull. The team served as something of a launching pad for Red Bull's young talent, like Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo, and Max Verstappen. Daniil Kvyat, Alex Albon, and Pierre Gasly also drove there before being promoted to Red Bull, and in the case of Kvyat and Gasly, returned after being demoted from Red Bull. Carlos Sainz also started his F1 career at the team before flying the coop and eventually landing at Ferrari last year.

Toro Rosso/AlphaTarui has always lived in the lower-midfield, never scoring higher than 6th in the constructor's championship, and achieving two victories. The team said in a statement that this move is "[a]imed at securing long-term stability and ensuring continuity."