AlphaTauri hopes to build on its strong end to the season to start 2024

The 2023 season for AlphaTauri has long resembled a bad dream. Franz Tost’s team suffered for a large part of the season, with a single-seater lagging behind its competitors. On the drivers’ side, the Italian stable also experienced complications.

If Yuki Tsunoda fulfilled his role, Nick de Vries on the other hand was evicted before the Austrian Grand Prix. Until the Belgian Grand Prix, AlphaTauri regained hope with its very experienced former driver, before he injured his wrist.

From that moment, everything seemed to improve. The substitute for the Australian pilot, Liam Lawson, was impressive and the measures put in place by AlphaTauri to advance the car were successful. In the recent races, the Italian garage managed to move from the 10th and last place in the championship to the 8th.

A second semester reference

At the very end of the year, AlphaTauri no longer reflected the image of a team from the lower ranks of the standings. In Abu Dhabi, Yuki Tsunoda had the opportunity to lead a few laps and a few weeks earlier, in Mexico, Daniel Ricciardo started in the 2nd row. The team is on the up and plans to build on the progress made to get off to a better start in 2024.

« We want to continue on this trajectory of progress we have followed during the second half year », said technical director Jody Egginton in the columns of AutoSport. « The goal is to achieve something similar to what we did in 2020 and 2021. We’ve been there before, we’ve done it, and we just need a solid winter and to get on our feet. Then our season can be a little better. We can develop the car in a somewhat more structured way. We want to be able to adopt a more measured and consistent approach. And if the car is a little stronger at the start of the season, we will be able to refine the approach we want to adopt, and it will be a good measure of the progress we are making. »

Continue an increased development

The progress is clear at AlphaTauri. The integrated packages have paid off and have made the team recover. However, the delay accumulated in the first part of the season prevented the Italian team from finishing ahead of Williams. Therefore, even if there is positivity, the team must use it to further progress and not stagnate or start from scratch.

« Sometimes, it’s good to take a break and tell yourself: “Well, wait a bit, we’ve tried our best to get back to where we wanted to be” », Jody Egginton explained to AutoSport. « We have been very clear about the objectives we missed and over time we had to achieve them. But during the season, everyone else is moving forward too. So, in addition to knowing where you are, you need to continue progressing. So, thanks to the team. We managed to catch up but we still have work to do. »

The engineer also added: « We can continue on this trajectory, similar to 2020 and 2021. We started in 2021, had a solid good season and were consistent. »

For the 2023 season, the Red Bull and AlphaTauri partnership is expected to be strengthened. The new trajectory that the Italian team is taking motivates both parties to be more involved with each other. Does this make one fear locked podiums for the competition?