Marko: AlphaTauri will have a new name in 2024

Red Bull's sister team is set to have major changes ahead of the 2024 Formula 1 season, with Team Principal Franz Tost recently announcing his departure, with Ferrari Sporting Director Laurent Mekies set to join the team as boss where he will work with former FIA man Peter Bayer as the top leadership in Faenza.

However Helmut Marko revealed in an interview with Kleine Zeitung that more changes are instore for the Italian outfit, formerly known as Toro Rosso in addition of the new management, these including the team's name as well as new work philosophy.

Asked about the team's situation, Marko said: "AlphaTauri will have two new leaders in Laurent Mekies and Peter Bayer from 2024.

"There will be new sponsors and also a new name. The orientation is clear: based on Red Bull Racing, as far as the regulations allow. Do-it-yourself constructions are the wrong way," he revealed.

Red Bull took over the Minardi F1 team back in 2005, and rebranded it Toro Rosso for 2006, and planned to use it as a stepping stone for their young F1 drivers before being given the chance to drive for the main team, should they be found fit.

At the early days, Toro Rosso used to source their chassis from Red Bull, but later went their own way with car design and development as regulations increasingly restricted transfer of parts between teams, but despite having some seasons better than the others, and a couple of breakthrough wins (Sebastian Vettel in 2008, and Pierre Gasly in 2020), the team rebranded to AlphaTauri in 2020 remained in the low midfield, with reports earlier this season claiming top Red Bull management are not satisfied with the team's performance both on and off track.

This may be the reason behind both the management change, as well the the work plans relying as much as possible on Red Bull, with the new name probably giving the outfit a fresh start.

For 2023, AlphaTauri have Yuki Tsunoda and Nyck de Vries in the cockpits of their cars, and while the former is showing improvement, the latter is yet to prove himself worthy of an F1 seat.

"Basically, Yuki is having a very good season with unfortunate results and penalties, but the performance is right. But we're not satisfied with Nyck de Vries, we'll look into that too," Marko said.

Asked whether an Austrian driver can be drafted to replace De Vries; the Austrian doubted it; he said: "It's very simple: Nobody has the necessary speed. You could get an Austrian into Formula 1, but we want young drivers who have the potential to be winners.

"There is no one to be seen far and wide in Austria," the 80-year-old concluded.

AlphaTauri are currently last in the 2023 F1 Constructors' Championship, with two points only.