On the eve of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, for AlphaTauri there was only one clear and well-defined objective: to try to collect as many points as possible to beat Williams in the chase for seventh place in the constructors’ championship.
A scenario that, until the summer break, would not have even been possible to think about, because the limitations of the AT04 were evident, especially in terms of rear stability, a problem that had weighed on Nyck de Vries’ aspirations on several occasions. However, over the course of the year numerous packages of technical innovations arrived, some less effective, such as the one in Great Britain, some more significant, such as those in Singapore and Austin.
But the development program did not stop with the American stages, because the Faenza team presented itself in Abu Dhabi with a new fund, which also represents a connecting bridge towards the future and what the 2024 car will be. However, with such a major update, it wasn’t easy to immediately find the right solution. The new package has in fact given greater load to the rear of the car, which pushed the team to work on the setup to rebalance the front end. An aspect not to be underestimated for the Abu Dhabi weekend, given that many teams suffered from graining right at the front to protect the rear tyres.
Photo by: Filip Cleeren
The bottom of the Alpha Tauri AT04
Thanks also to these latest updates, Yuki Tsunoda was the author of a good weekend at Yas Marina, starting from the sixth place achieved in qualifying, which almost counterbalanced Daniel Ricciardo’s elimination in Q2.
Even in the race the two drivers of the Italian team saw contrasting destinies. While the Japanese managed to maintain sixth position in the early stages of the race, on the contrary the Australian was forced to return to the pits early. In fact, due to a visor that had got stuck causing the temperatures to rise, AlphaTauri had to recall Ricciardo, an aspect which, however, penalized it in terms of the duration of the following two stints, because with the two-stop tactic ideally the first pit stop should not have been recorded so early. In general, however, the Perth native struggled to find the right confidence in the car, always finding himself one step behind his teammate.
On the contrary, Tsunoda was the author of excellent tire management in the first part of the race, which allowed him to extend and implement his single-stop tactic. Furthermore, when Charles Leclerc returned to the pits, the driver from the Faenza team also briefly took command of the race: Yuki was thus the second Japanese driver to lead a Grand Prix after Takuma Sato way back in 2004.
However, the one-stop strategy did not prove sufficient to beat Fernando Alonso, who overtook the Japanese in the second part of the race. An irrelevant detail for the ranking, because seventh place would not have been enough to beat Williams in any case, but the eighth final position still represents a good conclusion for the world championship and an encouraging sign for the future.
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri AT04
“I gave it everything. To be honest, I didn’t know I was in the lead [nel primo stint]. So I’m quite surprised. And looking back, in the first half of the season, we never thought we would lead a GP.”
“It’s a great privilege and without the team’s effort we couldn’t have achieved these results. The amount of work they’ve done this year, in almost every race where we’ve had updates, has been crazy. They deserve it. Plus, we don’t I was able to give the greatest gift to Franz, but at least I hope I gave everything. And I at least showed my performances as a sort of appreciation for him”, added Tsunoda, with a thought also for Franz Tost, at the his last race as Team Principal of AlphaTauri.
Although it didn’t allow him to beat Alonso, according to the Japanese, trying the single-stop tactic proved to be the right choice, also because it would have opened up various scenarios: “It was our plan, but we knew it would be difficult. We listened to what they said the tires, which held up quite well in the first stint, so that helped us. And I think that was a key moment.”
“In the end what we did with the strategy went well. Even if I had adopted exactly the same strategy as the top teams, I don’t know if we would have managed to finish in sixth place. So I think we have no regrets,” added Tsunoda, especially keeping in mind that Sergio Perez was also behind them at the start, with a Red Bull that was difficult to beat over the long distance.
Photo by: James Sutton / Motorsport Images
Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri AT04
However, the end of the season represents a very encouraging sign for the Faenza team, not only for the step forward shown in terms of performance, but also because the updates have given the desired outcome, an aspect that should not be underestimated. Although next year a technical direction should be taken that will bring the team significantly closer to Red Bull, the performances in the last races bode well for 2024, precisely because the latest updates represent a connecting bridge towards the new car.
“I believe that what we did in Abu Dhabi with the updates is the philosophy for next year too. And if these updates work, it is a good sign for next year too. So at least we have some positive elements and also some good data” .
“So we continue to do what we have been doing. Obviously it’s still not enough. But I know that next year a lot of things will have to change. And I hope that this will take us a step forward,” added the Japanese driver.
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