AlphaTauri team principal Franz Tost has revealed that the Faenza-based team will continue to work with Red Bull, after confirming that the energy drink company “will not sell” their sister side, silencing rumours from German media.
Tost’s statement ahead of this weekend’s season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix is in response to reports from Germany, with Auto Motor und Sport (AMuS) having reported that Red Bull were looking into moving AlphaTauri to the UK to reduce costs.
The report also suggested that the midfield side could be sold by Red Bull should relocating them to the UK not reduce costs, with AlphaTauri reportedly costing significantly more than the leading team to run.
Tost revealed that he had a series of “very good meetings” with CEO Oliver Mintzlaff, who took over the role following the tragic death of Red Bull co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz.
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The team principal revealed that it was Mintzlaff who “confirmed” to him that the team won’t be sold and will continue to receive support in the future.
Red Bull acquired AlphaTauri (known originally as Toro Rosso) back in 2005, with Tost having been the team’s boss from the very beginning.
Whilst AlphaTauri did endure a very challenging and disappointing 2022 campaign, the team certainly are of use to Red Bull, who’ve had a number of successful drivers come through the ranks via AlphaTauri.
The likes of Sebastian Vettel, Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo, Alex Albon, Pierre Gasly, and Carlos Sainz all raced for AlphaTauri in the early days of their F1 career, highlighting the use that owning the team has had for Red Bull.
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With all of this in mind, Tost confirmed that AlphaTauri are not for sale.
A statement from Franz Tost read: “I had some very good meetings with Oliver Mintzlaff, who confirmed that the shareholders will not sell Scuderia AlphaTauri, and that Red Bull will continue supporting the team in the future. All these rumours have no foundation, and the team has to remain focused for the start of the season to perform better than last year.”
Should they be put up for sale, then AMuS revealed that Andretti would be an interested party in purchasing the team, with the American outfit set to do whatever it takes to get themselves into Formula 1.