Speed falls out with Toro Rosso
July 25th 2007 15:01
Speed on the out from Toro Rosso
Speed spoke to SpeedTV, and revealed that he no longer wishes to race for the team, accusing Tost and co-boss, Gerhard Berger of being unsupportive, dishonest and conniving, and saying that Tost is “out of control.”
The 24-year old recalled the pushing and shoving affair that followed the team’s disappointing weekend at the Nurburgring, where bothe Speed and fellow driver, Tonio Liuzzi aquaplaned helplessly off the circuit amidst a race-stopping downpour.
“When we left the pit wall, Franz was furious that I’d crashed in Turn One, regardless of the fact that nearly every single driver behind Button did the exact same thing, including Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg,” said Speed.
“I can’t say I made a mistake, because if I had to do the whole thing again, there was no possible way to realise that was going to happen…it was completely unsafe to drive,” he said about the crash.
“He was furious that I crashed. When I asked him about the pit stop (Toro Rosso’s minute long pit stop mix up) he said it doesn’t matter because you crashed, and he didn’t want to hear any criticisms about what the team did,” he said.
“After that I just turned away and walked towards the garage, and I guess he must have caught up behind me. When he reached me, he hit me in the middle of my bak with a closed fist,” recalled Speed, “Everyone in the team saw it.
Tost’s apparent attack continued further into the garage, into the partition where Speed said he “grabbed me from the front of my shirt, jerked me around, ripping my firesuit a little bit, and pushed me against the wall.”
Speed immediately sought to inform others, including Gerhard Berger, who brought a calmed-down Franz back to his driver for an apology.
With the incident over, Speed refused to seek out a political battle and kept the peace until he learned Tost had denied all claims of violence.
Initially I didn’t want to come out in the press and talk about this, because after the race Franz spent 15 minutes apologising for his behaviour,” said Speed, “but after coming out and denying this stuff, it’s just another very dishonest thing that Franz or Gerhard have said in the media to damage me and Tonio.”
When asked about his future, the American was eager not to severe ties with Red Bull, who has supporting him throughout his career.
“I’m worried that [Tost and Berger] have ruined my relationship with Red Bull,” said Speed, “Red Bull have been amazing to me, and I think we fit together really good, and it’s a shame to let these two people ruin the whole thing.”
“As far as my future in F1 is concerned…if it was with a different team, that would be great, but I would also like to do something else with Red Bull, even if it was outside F1,” he said.
And his immediate relationship with his current team bosses, Berger and Tost?
“You couldn’t pay me enough money to race for those two people again.”
Speculation is that BMW’s Red Bull-backed test driver, Sebastian Vettel will replace Speed for the forthcoming Hungarian Grand Prix.
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Comment by charles
ZCars
Ponderous
Apparently Speed is still testing for the team at Mugello so maybe the pair have kissed and made up?
Charles.
Comment by ChrisB
Formula 1
The Social Centre
Whether or not he will see out the rest of the season is unclear...Vettel, who is a red bull driver, is waiting around