Clear words from Tost

F1: Overworked mechanics? “A total joke”

For Franz Tost, 24 races on the Formula 1 calendar is not too many.

(Bild: Getty Images/APA/Getty Images via AFP/GETTY IMAGES/Rudy Carezzevoli, APA/AFP/Andrej ISAKOVIC)

"People always say that the mechanics are overworked. That's a total joke. They are not overworked at all," emphasized former Formula 1 team boss Franz Tost. And 24 races per season are "totally okay".

The 69-year-old Tyrolean, who will step down as Team Principal of AlphaTauri in 2023, spoke about the racing calendar and the overworking of staff during a panel discussion at "Sport Marke Medien" in December. "I think 24 races is totally okay," said Tost. "People always say that the mechanics are overworked. That's a complete joke. They are not overworked at all."

This whole work-life balance, all this shit, it's totally pointless. You don't need something like that. It's something for people who are too lazy to work.

Franz Tost

Most recently, former Formula 1 engineer Blake Hinsey publicly criticized the fact that mechanics earn too little for their work. They are pushed to their limits mentally and physically and hardly see their families.

Tost cannot understand this view. When he joined the premier class and became Team Principal of Toro Rosso in 2006, "we had the race at the weekend, and we tested on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. At the beginning we even had two cars. And it was always the same technicians and engineers. I never heard a complaint from them back then."

Tost continued in his clear and uncompromising tone: "Now there is a curfew in Formula 1, which means that it ends at 9pm in the evening. Until 8 o'clock the next morning. Jesus, what more do they want? They're allowed to work in Formula 1, that's a privilege. All this work-life balance, all this shit, it's totally pointless. You don't need something like that. It's something for people who are too lazy to work."

Franz Tost

(Bild: GEPA/GEPA pictures)

Tests "the most pointless thing ever"
Many mechanics want more test days. Since 2011, the number of tests per year has been strictly regulated. According to Tost, relaxing these regulations would be a mistake: "If you say you also have to test, that's an old way of thinking. You don't have to test at all." Testing is "the most pointless thing there is. It's just a tool for the engineers so they can play around a bit. A spring a little higher here, a stabilizer a little different there, a little more wing there. It's all pointless. The money is earned at the races. The more races you do, the more money Formula 1 earns."

And Tost still sees potential in the calendar: "There could be up to 26 races. The year has 52 weeks. Every second week would make sense. And I'm not saying that now because I'm retired. I've always said that before."

"I always had heated discussions with my ex-colleagues. They said: 'That's far too much, 18 to 20 races is the maximum'. I always asked them: 'What are you actually? Are you a racing team or a holiday team?"

The official test drives for the 2025 season will take place in Bahrain from February 26 to 28. The first Grand Prix is scheduled for 16 March in Australia.