JULY 24, 2007

Speed gives Tost both barrels

Scott Speed has decided that he has had enough with Scuderia Toro Rosso team manager Franz Tost and launched an uncompromising attack on the Austrian in an interview with Speedvision.com's Adam Cooper.

Speed said ge did not want to go public about it but decided that he would because of Tost's behaviour.

"After the race Franz spent 15 minutes apologizing for his behavior, because it was clear to everyone that he was way out of line," Speed said. "But after coming out and denying this stuff, it™s just another very dishonest thing that Franz or Gerhard (Berger) have said in the media to damage me and Tonio (Liuzzi). And at this point, I™ve had enough. I know that it™s going to hurt Red Bull, and that™s definitely not my intention, because Dietrich Mateschitz and Red Bull have been a huge support to me. They™re the reasons I have achieved everything I have in motor racing. But Franz Tost, in particular, is out of control."

Speed said that not only did Tost hit him in the back but afterwards, out of sight of the mechanics, grabbed Speed by the shirt and pushed me against a wall.

"I was furious," Speed said. "I walked to the pit wall and wanted to inform everyone that this happened. So I looked at my team manager, the technical director, and Gerhard Berger, and told them that if my team chief ever touches me again, I™m going to knock him out. They said, ˜OK, let™s try to calm this whole situation down.™ I said 'Fine' and went back in my room and I stayed there until the end of the race. At which point Gerhard and Franz both came back. Franz was calmed down and spent 15 minutes apologizing for his behavior."

Speed says that he is worried about his relationship with Red Bull.

"Obviously Franz Tost and Gerhard Berger have been pushing the same dishonesty to the media, and I™m worried that might have ruined my relationship with Red Bull," he said. "Because Red Bull has 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, you couldn™t pay me enough money to race for those two people again. 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."