Toro Rosso: James has a valid long-term contract with us

It was announced yesterday that McLaren had engineered something of a coup to obtain Key's services, but it has now emerged that him departing Toro Rosso may not be a mere packing his desk and walking out the door.

Tost explained, "James has a valid long-term contract with Toro Rosso. And that's all what I can say about this. There's nothing more to say."

He also insisted that it is McLaren's duty to approach the team and revealed that so far no approach has been made to him.

Tost said, "I think they will come to us. We will see, or not. I have no reason to discuss it with them, because we have a contract. Everything has been said."

But Tost Believes his team has the depth to ride the loss of Key, "Of course, it's not supporting us, all this story around James. This is clear. But I think the team from the technical side is strong enough, and there's a good view about what we have to do with it all."

"But we simply need also the time. I hope that we will bring some upgrades in the second half of the season, and if they are working as expected, I hope we can close the gap once more," added Tost.