Toro Rosso team boss Franz Tost has hit back at Renault’s criticism of ‘B-teams’ in Formula 1.
As the fight continues both on track and politically, teams like the French manufacturer, McLaren and Williams have become increasingly vocal about the technical partnerships being forged between top teams and those in the midfield.
Usually this applies to the close alliances Haas and Alfa Romeo have with Ferrari, but Toro Rosso’s increased use parts from last year’s Red Bull has also gotten attention.
“Toro Rosso had no technical director for most of last season,” Renault chief Cyril Abiteboul was quoted as saying in Melbourne.
“It’s very clear what went on. So we don’t even need a technical director to produce what is a very competitive car. For us, that’s a problem.”
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His insinuation is that Red Bull shared technical know-how that helped their junior team remain strong midfield contenders, but Tost hit back in Bahrain on Friday.
“If someone who runs a manufacturer team is complaining that the small teams are faster, better than him, then he hasn’t simply done the homework properly,” the Toro Rosso boss said to RaceFans in a press conference.
“We at Toro Rosso – I can only talk about Toro Rosso – we have from Red Bull Racing the gearbox from last year, the rear suspension from last year and parts from the front suspension.
“The reason why Toro Rosso is so competitive is mainly because of the fantastic power unit we have from Honda. It seems that others are not doing such a good job.
“Therefore they should not complain, they just should do their job.”
Haas team boss Guenther Steiner also defended the model, insisting it is merely allowing those without the resources to be competitive.
“At the moment the teams which have these affiliations with the big teams they are getting closer to the top teams and that’s what it should be,” he claimed.
“If we are knocked down then instead of having a two-tier society it will be a three-tier. It will be the works teams, the good ones, then we’ll have the bad works teams, and then it will be us.
“So what have they achieved for the sport? That is our principle. I think it’s a model which is really good to go forward.”
