Ricciardo unveils collective tribute to F1 veteran in heartfelt farewell

Daniel Ricciardo delivered a farewell tribute to AlphaTauri team principal Franz Tost as part of a collective gesture ahead of the Formula 1 stalwart’s last outing at the head of the Red Bull junior team.

Tost, the longest-serving team principal on the grid, having spent 18 years with the team, announced in April that he will depart the team, being replaced by Ferrari’s Laurent Mekies from next season.

Outside the AlphaTauri garage, Ricciardo signed his own message to the Austrian.

READ MORE: Verstappen cautioned over F1 owner fury as Ricciardo details AlphaTauri embarrassment - GPFans F1 Recap

“Franz, I hope to see you relaxing on the beach instead of running on the beach. Grande, grande grande graze per tutti!!!,” Ricciardo wrote.

Explaining his message to Tost, Ricciardo explained: “Franz is up before everyone. If he’s not in the gym, he’s running on the beach before everyone, so now I hope to see him laying on the beach and taking some time off.

“He’s been going hard for many years and hopefully he can enjoy some downtime now, so Grazie Franz.”

Tost has been a familiar face in Formula1 since 2000, having joined Williams with Ralf Schumacher, having met him years earlier in Formula 3.

He was appointed to his current role as team principal of Toro Rosso, as it was known then, following Red Bull’s purchase of Minardi.

Tost’s leadership has seen a number of AlphaTauri drivers make the leap into Red Bull, including four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel and the current world champion Max Verstappen.

AlphaTauri’s last victory came in 2020, with Pierre Gasly taking the chequered flag at Monza.

The team’s best finish in the Constructors’ Standings came in 2008, 2019 and 2021, when they finished in P6.

Throughout Tost’s final season, AlphaTauri has cycled through four drivers. Starting the year with Yuki Tsunoda and Nyck de Vries, the team axed the Dutch driver after 10 races after he failed to meet their expectations.

for Franz Tost! ❤️

if you're in the paddock during the #AbuDhabiGP, come and leave a message for Franz at the back of our garage to celebrate his final race with the team. pic.twitter.com/Pot6z4tXpP

— Scuderia AlphaTauri (@AlphaTauriF1) November 24, 2023

Daniel Ricciardo was brought in as a replacement for de Vries but injured his hand during a practice session at Zandvoort. While Ricciardo was on the sidelines, New Zealander Liam Lawson jumped into the driving seat, securing 2 points for the team.

The team is sat eighth in the standings heading into the final race of the season, seven points behind Williams and five points ahead of Alfa Romeo.

READ MORE: Red Bull driver to replace AlphaTauri star after Abu Dhabi GP

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