Franz Tost felt ‘negative’ as Red Bull snubbed 27-year-old to sign Sergio Perez

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Franz Tost admits Red Bull left him feeling ‘negative’ when they chose to sign Sergio Perez over taking Pierre Gasly back from AlphaTauri for the 2021 Formula 1 season.

Tost spent 18 years in charge of AlphaTauri with the remit of educating the future drivers for Red Bull. But Christian Horner shopped outside of the family when the Milton Keynes squad decided to replace Alex Albon. He had failed to match Max Verstappen whilst with the team.

Yet Horner and Red Bull decided that Perez would be a better fit for their second seat having just been dropped by Aston Martin. Despite winning the Sakhir Grand Prix with Racing Point before the team’s rebrand, Perez lost a seat there so Sebastian Vettel could join from Ferrari.

Red Bull rejected giving Pierre Gasly a second chance to sign Sergio Perez

Red Bull announced Perez as their No2 driver in December 2020, with Albon falling to a test and reserve role. But Tost championed a return to Milton Keynes for Gasly having been axed by the outfit mid-season in 2019. He only lasted 12 races at Red Bull with a best finish of P4.

Gasly earned a quick promotion to the main Red Bull team for 2019 after one full season for AlphaTauri, then called Toro Rosso. He debuted in Formula 1 toward the end of 2017 before excelling across 2018. But the differences between the STR13 and RB15 never suited Gasly.

His return to Faenza soon brought the best back out of Gasly, though. He ended 2019 on the podium with P2 at the Brazilian GP. The Frenchman then went one better and won the 2020 Italian GP. He took advantage of Lewis Hamilton’s penalty and fended off Carlos Sainz to win.

Franz Tost felt ‘negative’ seeing Pierre Gasly stay at AlphaTauri for 2021

Yet even Gasly winning the Italian GP for AlphaTauri was not enough to convince Red Bull to bring him back. So, when the time came to replace Albon, Perez being a free agent proved a much more appealing route. But Red Bull overlooking Gasly left a sour taste in Tost’s mouth.

Red Bull’s former owner, Dietrich Mateschitz, always wanted Tost to act as a teacher for the team’s academy drivers as they arrived in Formula 1. It was a role the Austrian had from the end of 2005 up to 2023 and developed the likes of Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo and Verstappen.

“This was always clear for me,” Tost told RacingNews365. “I was always happy and satisfied when they got a seat at Red Bull. It was much more negative for me when Red Bull took Sergio Perez instead of Pierre Gasly, for example.

“I liked it when they took drivers from us because then the team did a good job. It was good to see that drivers at Red Bull were winning races and championships. I know from our side that we don’t have the infrastructure to win races.

“What Mateschitz said right from the beginning onwards is, ‘I can’t afford two teams to fight for a championship. Just lose the synergies from Red Bull Racing and educate the drivers’.”

Gasly remained at AlphaTauri until the end of the 2022 F1 season before joining Alpine. Red Bull and AlphaTauri demanded the Renault-owned squad pay £9m to break the 27-year-old out of his contract. Gasly secured one podium for Alpine over 2023 with P3 at the Dutch GP.