Franz Tost: 'Vettel doesn't just want to be on the grid'

It was under his leadership that the talent of the man who would become quadruple world champion a few years later came to light. Arrived within the Team Toro Rosso by Franz Tost during the 2007 campaign, Sebastian Vettel did not wait long before revealing himself, winning the Italian Grand Prix in 2008 at the Monza Autodromo.

A short season and a half before moving to the sister team Red Bull and to string together world crowns and victories from 2010 until 2013. A short period which however allowed Franz Tost, still at the head of Alpha Tauri (the new name of Toro Rosso since this year), to learn to know the German pilot.

The head of Faenza training, who remains close to the future ex-Ferrari driver, believes that his former protégé remains a sure bet on the grid.

« He's not a driver who just wants to be on the starting grid, comments Tost on the website of the F1. If we had a race now, he would want to win it.

From a financial point of view, I don't think he needs to continue racing, but drivers who have won championships don't think so much about money. Their motivation is to win races, to succeed. It's the motivation, not the money.

He's only 32, he's a very talented driver, and if he gets the right package, in a Ferrari, a Red Bull or a Mercedes, he is still capable of winning races, and I am quite sure he can win another championship – it depends on which team he can drive with. »

Except that the possibilities for Sebastian Vettel were clearly reduced last week, since in the wake of the announcement of his departure, Ferrari confirmed the arrival in its ranks of Carlos Sainz, from McLaren, himself replaced by Daniel Ricciardo.

As for the track Renault, the French manufacturer could well set your sights on a former member of the Losange house: Fernando Alonso. So, what solution for Sebastian Vettel?