[Auto / Moto] F1: AFTER A YEAR 2020 MARKED BY THE VICTORY OF GASLY, ALPHATAURI AIMS EVEN HIGHER

[#Hassan.]

Pierre Gasly's team has lifted the veil on its new single-seater and its ambitions for 2021.

The AlphaTauri F1 team, which presented its single-seater and its drivers on Friday, including Frenchman Pierre Gasly, has set itself the "objective for this year to be constantly at the head of the midfield", according to its manager Franz Tost. In 2020, the Italian team, previously known as Toro Rosso, had their best season ever, scoring 107 constructors' championship points. She was only seventh out of ten, however, and last in the midfield, 95 points behind McLaren, 3rd and first in the midfield.

"To achieve (this goal) we have to avoid reliability issues and finish all races in points," Tost urges. This can only be done if we don't make mistakes, so we need to be 10% focused on our work, race after race, on and off the track. " As for the drivers, Gasly (25), winner of his first Grand Prix in 2020 at Monza and tenth in the championship, will be the “leader” of the team. With his experience in the category since the end of the 2017 season, he will guide the Japanese rookie Yuki Tsunoda (20 years old).

"The arrival of Yuki (who succeeds the Russian Daniil Kvyat, 26, editor's note) means that I will have more responsibilities and I am ready to take on this role", assures the Frenchman. “Very satisfied” with his results last year, he still believes that there is “still room to progress, to refine”. Third in F2 in 2020, Tsunoda says it has been "a very useful experience and a good warm-up", but the Honda protégé and member of the Red Bull youth network also knows that "the step is high".

Tsunoda wants to "learn quickly"
“The speed of the cars makes a huge difference, as well as the fact that the season is much longer (23 races, a record, note). Technically, there are a lot of differences, ”he lists. "There are a lot of complex procedures and you have to learn them as quickly as possible and the team is much larger, with a lot more engineers to work with." "My goal is to learn quickly and to deliver results as soon as possible", concludes the Japanese.

Starting from pre-season testing in Bahrain from March 12 to 14, AlphaTauri will run a single-seater called AT02, still powered by Honda. To support the economic impact of the Covid-19 crisis, developments are largely frozen, apart from changes to aerodynamics mandatory for all. The car will still have a new front wing, among other things. “It's hard for me to tell you anything about the performance of the car,” said Tost. If you ask the engineers today, they'll tell you it's very good, much faster than last year, but I'm waiting to see the times. "