Formula 1
"Less lazy" AlphaTauri F1 car key to 2021 progress
AlphaTauri technical director Jody Egginton has explained making the team's 2021 Formula 1 car "less lazy" in low-speed corners has been key in overcoming its early season wobble as Pierre Gasly continues to shine.
Filip Cleeren
Edited: Feb 11, 2022, 6:05 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Gasly has been one of the standout performers of the 2021 F1 season, qualifying in the top six on six occasions and only missing the Q3 shootout once.
The pace of the AlphaTauri AT21 has helped the Frenchman hold eighth in the drivers' championship after the Styrian Grand Prix, partly thanks to a shock podium in Baku.
After a strong start to the season, the Faenza outfit had a wobble in the Portuguese and Spanish Grands Prix, with Gasly only just managing to finish 10th and teammate Yuki Tsunoda remaining point-less in both races.
Technical director Egginton said the team asked itself "a lot of questions" about its rough Iberian spell and believes it learned valuable lessons about the car's low-speed performance in those two races. Egginton thinks the fact that the team has since managed to cure the car's "laziness" in cornering has been key in making progress in F1's midfield.
That approach paid off big in Azerbaijan, where Gasly scored his third F1 podium, and has since continued to pay dividends as AlphaTauri currently holds fifth in the constructors' championship ahead of Aston Martin.
"After Portugal and Spain we had some concerns on our low-speed performance," Egginton said in Austria. "We were not fantastically happy.
"Then we went into Monaco and we played around with a setup a bit. It's a bit of a unique circuit and you can't always take too many conclusions, but we thought we did some sensible learning there.
"And then our attention focused to a few of the balances and trying to get the car to be a little bit less lazy and rotate better in the medium speed, and [in] Baku we had good car rotation at low-speed corners, the car seemed to rotate quite nicely.
"Paul Ricard was challenging for everybody with tyres and track temperatures and balance, but although the car was difficult to drive, it was competitive, far more competitive than we've been in the previous years. So again, we felt we learned something."
Egginton pointed out the team's progress has also been evident in the first Austrian race weekend, in which Gasly qualified sixth and rookie Tsunoda was eighth fastest, but started from 11th due to a penalty.
Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri AT02, limps back to the pits and into retirement with a puncture and damage on the opening lap
Photo by: Jerry Andre / Motorsport Images
While Tsunoda grabbed a point in 10th, Gasly had to retire after being tagged by Charles Leclerc's Ferrari on the opening lap.
But before Sunday's events Egginton said AlphaTauri had been "answer a few questions" and cure the car's key weakness.
"We sort of put all that together and knowing the nature of this place, not so much low-speed content, a lot of medium speed, and you need a good stability and rotation and it's all come together," Egginton added.
"So, there's a full story. I think the engineers have put everything together, all of the lessons we've learned in recent events, and it's worked quite well. We feel we've got a better understanding.
"We've answered a few questions and the car's going quicker as a result of it."
Read Also:
- Ferrari can easily be ahead of McLaren, says Norris
- How secret cosmetics chemical is helping Red Bull's F1 charge
- Revealed: The Red Bull F1 updates that left Mercedes on the backfoot
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 Revealed: The Red Bull F1 updates that left Mercedes on the backfoot
Next article Mercedes distracted by lack of stability, says Ferrari
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Filip Cleeren
F1 Brazilian GP: Lando Norris wins in mixed conditions, Mercedes clinch constructors’ title
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
3 h
F1 Brazilian GP: Lando Norris wins in mixed conditions, Mercedes clinch constructors’ title
George Russell's Brazilian GP qualifying fury explained: "Pole was there for the taking"
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
23 h
George Russell's Brazilian GP qualifying fury explained: "Pole was there for the taking"
More from
Racing Bulls
Liam Lawson rues Brazilian GP qualifying mistake despite third-place grid start
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
23 h
Liam Lawson rues Brazilian GP qualifying mistake despite third-place grid start
Racing Bulls promises "right decision" as Liam Lawson's F1 future remains in doubt
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
Racing Bulls promises "right decision" as Liam Lawson's F1 future remains in doubt
Latest news
Charles Leclerc penalised for Liam Lawson clash; Kimi Antonelli and Oliver Bearman also punished after F1 Brazilian GP
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
17 min
Charles Leclerc penalised for Liam Lawson clash; Kimi Antonelli and Oliver Bearman also punished after F1 Brazilian GP
Max Verstappen "needs to understand what happened" after "night and day" F1 comeback in Brazilian GP
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
18 min
Max Verstappen "needs to understand what happened" after "night and day" F1 comeback in Brazilian GP
LIVE: NASCAR Cup season finale at Homestead lap-by-lap updates
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
43 min
LIVE: NASCAR Cup season finale at Homestead lap-by-lap updates
Kyle Larson wins 2026 NASCAR Cup championship with Stage 1 clinch at Homestead
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
48 min
Kyle Larson wins 2026 NASCAR Cup championship with Stage 1 clinch at Homestead
Feature
Discover prime content
How F1’s rules got to be so complex
Formula 1
By Pat Symonds
How F1’s rules got to be so complex
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