Tost was the Toro Rosso boss in 2012 when the highly-touted Ricciardo arrived as a young ꧃driverꦆ.

They then met again last season at AlphaTa⛎uri, a move which reinvigorated Ricciardo’s career, before Tost waved goodbye to F1 and retired at the end of the year.

Ric🐻ciardo insisted the spꦜort would miss the veteran Tost: “I’d say tremendously. 

“I think for the team, he’s been everything, obviously starting off 💖in the Toro Rosso days, o🐻r my first full season in F1.

“I🐷 remem൲ber quite vividly the first meeting I had in his office and I kind of bounced in with a smile. 

“I think he look🌌ed at me like… He tried to prepare me for what’s aheaꦿd.

“It’s a serious sport and it’s a tough old world.

“I th𝓡ink he was very honest with me as🐻 well, but it made me… 

“A little bit the same as with [Red Bull advisor] Helmut [Marko], it kind o𓆏f made me matܫure a little quicker and ultimately grow up.

“I think Franz has always been really invo♚lved. 

“He’s in every debrief, he’ll normally speak as we💯ll in debriefs and give some analysis or advice or a🐈nything he’s seen. 

“He’s fully involved in it and it's his passion.

“It’s been everything that’s kind of given him drive for♚ so many years. 

“I hope he can enjoy putting his feet up a little bit next year. ꧂;

“I’m not sure♔ fully what that’s going to entail for him, but I really hope he’s able to en𒁏joy some R&R.”

Tost had a helping hand in developing Red Bull drivers Ricciardo, Max Verstappen, Sebastian Vetteꦓl and 🤡Pierre Gasly.

Gasly’s only F1 gran✃d prix victory wa🥃s four years ago in Italy, as an AlphaTauri driver under Tost’s leadership.

“He’s played a huge ꧑p⛎art in my career,” said Gasly. 

“I ended💜 up spending five years being his driver so we built a very strong bond. 

He’s quite a unique character, he’s got💎 his own personality, but his love and passion for F🦩1 and motorsport is pretty much unmatched.

“He’s b꧋een definitely very valuable i💯n my career just in the support that he brought. 

“He brought me the self-reflection in being quite objective and alꦯways trying to dig inside his driver and try and 𒅌get more, extract more out of them. 

🐲“I’ve always had a very good personal connection [with him].

“I did wish him already all the best for his future.&nb🔴sp;

“I know what he’s going to be up to, he’s always been talking about sk⛄iing and going in the mountains. 

“He’s seen race tracks for his entire career and I think it’s a great oppor𓆉tunity for him to enj🌳oy his off-track life.”

Tost, ꧑aged 67, was in charge of Toro Rosso and AlphaTauri for 18 years.

Laurent Mekies has arrived this year from Ferrari as AlphaTaur𝓀i’s new team principal.