AlphaTauri is confident that they have made a step forward in 2021 pre-season testing ahead of the new Formula One season.
Pierre Gasly set the 15th fastest overall time across three days of pre-season testing but is confident that he has a ‘good understanding’ of his new AT02 in terms of strengths and where improvements can be made to the car.
Reflecting on last season’s car which he drove to a maiden F1 victory at Monza compared to the AT02, Gasly feels more ‘confident’ in this year’s car and ‘in a better place’ compared to 2020, whilst harbouring hopes that the team can get right in amongst the midfield scrap this season.
On the new Honda power unit, Gasly is pleased with their progress which hasn’t caused him any issues in pre-season, saying: “… we’re really happy with it – it’s a strong step forward, compared to last year, and the reliability has been perfect all three days, which is really positive.”
This season also sees Gasly joined by new teammate in rookie – Yuki Tsunoda who stunned the paddock in the final hour of testing to set the second fastest overall time, with the Japanese youngster pleased with how much he learned across all three days of pre-season testing.
Tsunoda though feels that there is more improvement to make once they have reflected on the positives and negatives of this test, commenting: “I’ve learnt so much over the last few days and collected crucial data for the team that we’ll now go back and analyse ahead of the first race.”
Chief Race Engineer, Jonathan Eddolls leaves Bahrain happy with what he believes was a ‘fantastic’ test in which the team delivered the second fastest overall time and encountered no reliability issues.
Eddolls also spoke of how this test allowed AlphaTauri to conduct various tests on the car that wouldn’t take place on a race weekend which benefits their data gathering on AT02 and tyres, adding: “… we’ve been able to increase our understanding of the new 2021 tyre compounds over some long runs.
Team Principal, Franz Tost also is positive about what the team has learned across 422 laps between both drivers, although Tost has urged caution on the car’s potential, as he said: “The AT02 seems to be competitive but we won’t know how representative this is until the first qualifying session here in Bahrain.”
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