Franz Tost says one F1 team called him ‘crazy’ for decision that led to Gasly’s AlphaTauri win

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Former AlphaTauri team principal Franz Tost has said that one Formula 1 called him crazy for a decision that led to Pierre Gasly winning in Monza in 2020.

It was Pierre Gasly’s one and only win in Formula 1 so far and came during a disrupted season.

Speaking to RacingNews365, Franz Tost explained that he had to prove a lot of people wrong with the call that led to the Frenchman’s victory.

AlphaTauri – and formerly Toro Rosso – have always been a team that allowed Red Bull to experiment in Formula 1.

Firstly, with their drivers, as Franz Tost put plenty of Red Bull juniors through their paces to see if they were ready to drive for the senior team.

While the likes of Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo made the jump, plenty of other young drivers were rushed into that seat too quickly.

However, AlphaTauri and Toro Rosso also achieved some magnificent feats that no one ever expected.

Sebastian Vettel’s maiden win at Monza was incredible and Gasly followed suit years later.

Tost has admitted he was called crazy for deciding to use a Honda power unit during that time but ultimately, it led to Gasly’s unbelievable win.

It’s a decision that led to Red Bull adopting the power units too and they’ve now played a key role in one of the most dominant cars in Formula 1 history.

Tost called crazy for Honda decision that led to Gasly win

Speaking about the 27-year-old’s victory, Tost said: “That was the next highlight. At that time we got a contract with Honda and that was very exciting.

“I can remember the people from McLaren were smiling and saying to me, ‘You must be totally crazy, what do you want with Honda?’ I said, ‘Right, you are nowhere with Honda, but let’s talk about it again in five years.’

“In the end, it didn’t even take me five years, because it was clear earlier.”

McLaren had every right to call Tost crazy for making that call even if it did lead to Gasly achieving a feat that no McLaren has done since Daniel Ricciardo in 2021.

McLaren and Honda dominated F1 in the late 1980s and early 1990s with Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna in the car.

However, between 2015 and 2017, McLaren really struggled and blamed the power unit for some of those issues.

In 2024, AlphaTauri and Red Bull are the only teams using Honda’s power units, but after Max Verstappen’s dominance last year, it looks like a very good decision.