AlphaTauri "can celebrate in December" - Tost

Italian Grand Prix

AlphaTauri "can celebrate in December" - Tost

Tost insists his team must remain focused ahead of Tuscan GP

Ewan Gale

Monday 7 September 2020 17:15

AlphaTauri boss Franz Tost has told his team it will have to wait until December to celebrate Pierre Gasly's shock victory in the Italian Grand Prix.

Gasly scored a sensational triumph, beating McLaren's Carlos Sainz by 0.415secs at Monza to become the first French driver to win in Formula 1 for 24 years.

For the team, it was its first success for 12 years - and only its second overall in F1 - since Sebastian Vettel took the chequered for then Toro Rosso in the wet at Monza.

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Tost, however, has put on hold any celebrations, in particular, with the next race of the Tuscan Grand Prix at Mugello just a few days away.

"There is no celebration for the team," insisted Tost. "They should prepare everything because we have to go to Mugello, that is the next race.

"That is much more important, they can celebrate in December. There is no celebration, forget it."

Tost, though, was full of praise for Gasly for his efforts since rejoining "his family" in the wake of his demotion from Red Bull last summer.

Although Gasly has been one of the drivers of the season, Tost is confident the 24-year-old will not be leaving any time soon.

"If we lose him, it means the team did a good job because otherwise, they [Red Bull] wouldn't take him," he claimed.

"Currently, I am quite optimistic he will stay with us. He is very motivated. He was already last year when he came back from Red Bull.

"He came into my office and we greeted each other and he said he feels like he was here yesterday, that it is his family.

"He liked the car we had already last year, we had a competitive car and then from Spa onwards he improved his performance.

"In Sao Paolo [Brazilian Grand Prix last year] he finished in second place, that was also a good fight against [Lewis] Hamilton and here he drove a really brilliant race because he was in the lead and he controlled it."

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