F1 News
Standard of drivers higher than ever according to Tost
- Jake Williams-Smith
Toro Rosso team principal Franz Tost believes that the standard of Formula 1 drivers is currently higher than ever.
The team boss believes that the level of drivers coming into the sport has only grown in recent years with the rookies of the sport already massively experienced having started racing so young.
Tost picked out the Red Bull junior system in particular as a factor in the rising standards, as seen with the arrival of Max Verstappen on the F1 scene when he was just 17-years-old.
“The current level of the drivers from the fitness side is the highest I’ve ever seen in Formula 1,” said Tost.
“You must not forget that we now have drivers who started motor sport when they were six or seven years old.
“That means that when they come to Formula 1, they’ve already done 10 to 15 years of karting first and then the junior categories and I’m not talking about the Red Bull and Toro Rosso drivers.
“Our drivers have special physical training plans. They have their own coach, they have a nutrition plan.
“That means they are so well prepared that the driving itself is no longer so exciting for them and of course, you cannot compare this time with – let me say – 20 or 30 years ago when Nelson Piquet and Nigel Mansell or whoever collapsed after a race.”