The Franz Tost Exclusive: To be honest, we are still reeling in from this!
The legendary Franz Tost — former team principal of Scuderia Toro Rosso and then Alpha Tauri — had a sit down with Kunal Shah and Soumil Arora on this exclusive segment of the Inside Line #F1 Podcast.
Franz reveals the inside story behind Max Verstappen’s iconic F1 debut at just 17 years old. He explains why he personally pushed Red Bull to take a chance on Max, what he saw in the young prodigy, and how Verstappen proved his critics wrong from lap 1.
From karting roots to Formula 3 brilliance and finally, that historic Suzuka FP1 in 2014 — Tost shares insights only an insider could. He also reflects on Verstappen’s current dominance, calling his 2025 Suzuka qualifying lap “one of the best I’ve ever seen”.
Don’t miss this rare look behind the rise of a Formula 1 World Champion — from the man who gave him his first chance.
Guess what? This is just the first episode in this series, so don’t forget to hit the like and subscribe buttons and watch this space for more.
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