Tost calls for customer cars rethink

Formula One should reconsider the decision to ban customer cars from the sport in 2010 in a bid to help make the sport more economically viable.

That is the view of Scuderia Toro Rosso team principal Franz Tost, who believes that the way Red Bull have managed to successfully run two teams shows how costs can easily be driven down in the sport.

He sees there being little benefit from forcing small teams like his to become constructors, because of the unnecessary financial outlay needed to produce a car.

"There are six manufacturer teams and 12 places, so I think there should be six manufacturer teams and six private teams, and each private team should work together with a manufacturer," said Tost, whose team will have to become constructors from 2010 unless F1's regulations change.

"The philosophy with Red Bull was always to have one engineering centre providing the two teams with the car. We have halved the costs, because our budget is a quarter of that of other teams and we are able to win.

"That means that what we have done so far from the efficiency and economic point of view is the right way to go. But the regulations are something different and therefore we have to change."

Tost believes in the current financial climate it is crazy to force teams to build their own cars, when manufacturers could so easily have the option to run their own works outfit and a customer partner.

"Look at what happens today in the economy," he said. "The great car manufacturers work together. Why do they work together? They do not want to spend so much money on development and research, which is exactly right because in the end the result nearly is the same.

"We are searching for a wind tunnel. I can tell you now with 150 people working in a wind tunnel, we will not bring a revolutionary car onto the starting grid because it is not possible from the regulation or the physics. All the cars look nearly the same.

"Colour them white and I will make a bet with you that there are not five people who can tell you which car belongs to which team. But regulations are regulations and we are pushing in this direction."

Toro Rosso are due to increase their staff numbers by 80 in the near future as they ramp up their preparations to become a constructor, as a lot of work is put in to finding suitable wind tunnel facilities.

"We are in negotiations with several wind tunnels and it's a tremendous job," said Tost. "I'm not convinced this is the correct way to go in Formula One."

In the shorter term, and despite Sebastian Vettel's shock victory in the Italian Grand Prix, Tost says he will be happy to finish the season with just a few more points-scoring finishes.

"We will move forward but we must keep our feet on the ground," he said. "If we score points in the last four races then I am quite happy. I don't think that we will be in the position to win another race this year because Ferrari, McLaren and BMW are still ahead of us. Not just a little ahead, but far ahead."

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