Formula 1
Strong start to 2021 won't change AlphaTauri's '22 plans
AlphaTauri has no plans to delay the switch to focusing on next year's Formula 1 car despite making a strong start to the 2021 season.
Edited: Apr 27, 2021, 10:31 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
AlphaTauri finished seventh in last year's constructors' championship, but looks to be in contention to break into the top five in 2021 after showing impressive pace in Bahrain and Imola.
Pierre Gasly qualified fifth for both races, and although the team only scored eight points across the two rounds, it appears to have a pace advantage over rivals Aston Martin and Alpine.
Gasly fought back to seventh after a strategy miscue at Imola caused him to drop down the order early on, while teammate Yuki Tsunoda was able to score points on debut in Bahrain, showing the pace of the AT02 car.
AlphaTauri technical director Jody Egginton said the team was "firmly in the midfield" currently, and is targeting P5 after feeling it has made a step forward compared to last year.
"Our target is to mix it for fifth in the championship, that's what we're aiming for," Egginton said.
"Whether we're solidly there or not yet, it's too early to say. But I feel the car is more competitive than last year.
"We achieved most of our technical objectives over the winter, and they were targeting closing the gap and making the car better performing and operate over a wider operating window.
"I wouldn't be naive enough to sit here now and say, 'watch this space, we're going to show them all how it's done', because that's not the case.
"But we seem to have taken a step at the moment."
Read Also:
- AlphaTauri built special pedal case for Tsunoda
- Could AlphaTauri be 2021 surprise after Bahrain ‘shocker’?
Most teams are currently splitting resources between developing their 2021 cars and preparing for 2022, when an overhaul of the technical regulations threatens to shake up the pecking order.
But Egginton said AlphaTauri would not divert from its original plan on when to fully focus on the 2022 car despite the opportunities that could be on offer this year.
"Not in my mind, in all honesty," Egginton said when asked if a change of plan was a consideration.
"As good as all this is, 2022 is a massive project, and personally, as the leader of the technical group, I don't feel there's any compromise to be had on next year's car.
"We've got to make that deliver. The challenge is to maximise what we do with this car, given the resources we're going to have on it, and as we migrate resources over to the other car.
"But no, I don't feel that I could be in a position to ever say well we'll push more on '21 and '22 is the net result, no. It's a balancing act for all of the teams.
"There's a lot of resource in the technical group being assigned to the new car already. We're not putting all our eggs in one basket in the belief that this is our opportunity. We're trying to get better ever year.
"We look like we were better this year than last year, and last year than the year before. And the same is true for '22. We want to take the next step. I don't feel it would be accepted if we turned around and compromised next year."
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Alonso impressed by "dedicated" Ocon as new Alpine F1 teammate
Next article Formula 1's sprint qualifying trials plan approved
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
Latest news
Honda Racing US echoes Porsche urgency over unified 2030 rules framework
IMSA
IMSA IMSA 2 h
Honda Racing US echoes Porsche urgency over unified 2030 rules framework
Toto Wolff: Two sponsors left Mercedes after promoting Kimi Antonelli into F1
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Mexican GP
2 h
Toto Wolff: Two sponsors left Mercedes after promoting Kimi Antonelli into F1
Winners and losers from the penultimate round of 2026 NASCAR Cup season at Martinsville
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Martinsville II
2 h
Winners and losers from the penultimate round of 2026 NASCAR Cup season at Martinsville
Cadillac to investigate high-speed Mexico GP failure that led to angry Valtteri Bottas reaction
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Mexican GP
2 h
Cadillac to investigate high-speed Mexico GP failure that led to angry Valtteri Bottas reaction
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe