FranzTost has said it would be “fantastic” if Red Bull decide Carlos Sainz and Daniil Kvyat need to stay at Toro Rosso for another season.
The junior team is designed to prepare young drivers for the Red Bull team but, with both Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo contracted to stay at Red Bull for the 2018 season, it’s unlikely either Toro Rosso driver will get a promotion at the end of the season. That leaves two options for the bosses: keep both drivers waiting in the wings at Toro Rosso, or leave at least one without a seat and promote reigning GP2 champion Pierre Gasly.
Tost would appear to be hoping for the former.
“This is a decision for Red Bull. We have to wait. But if they continue with us, it would be fantastic,” he told Autosport.
“There are not so many teams out there which are so much better than us.
“They are still young and we are still developing them. They are 22 and 23 years old. This is not an age where you can say you belong to the old drivers.
“We will see what Red Bull decides but, if they stay with us, I think the complete team would be more than happy.”
Sainz and Kvyat may be some of the younger drivers in the field, but they’re also the most experienced Toro Rosso has had in its line-up. In the team’s history, no driver has left Toro Rosso with more than three seasons’ experience in F1. Kvyat is already over that mark, this his fourth year in F1 and third with Toro Rosso. Another year for Sainz at Toro Rosso would also see him pass that record.
But Tost still believes the main purpose of his team is to prepare drivers for Red Bull.
“This is one of the targets of Toro Rosso, to allocate the young Red Bull drivers.
“That’s what we like to do and therefore we are quite happy if they get a seat at Red Bull Racing because it means that the team has done a good job, and that the drivers are ready to go and the drivers are ready to win races. And this is what we would like to see.”
Tost will find out if the team has done a good enough job to keep Kvyat and Sainz at Toro Rosso for another year after the summer.
“It depends what Red Bull decides, but the decision will be made in September or October, something like that.”
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