AlphaTauri finished seventh in the Constructors’ Championship last year but appears to be competing for the top 5 in 2021 after showing an impressive pace in Bahrain and Imola.
Pierre Gasly qualified fifth for both races, and although the team only scored eight points on both laps, it appears to have a pace advantage over rivals Aston Martin and Alpine.
Gasly fought his way back to seventh place after a strategy mistake at Imola caused him to drop the order early, while teammate Yuki Tsunoda scored points on the debut in Bahrain, showing the pace of the AT02 car.
AlphaTauri technical director Jody Egginton said the team is currently “firmly in midfield” and is targeting P5 after feeling like they have made a step forward from last year.
“Our goal is to finish fifth in the championship. That’s our goal,” said Egginton.
“Whether we’re firmly there or not, it’s too early to say. But I think the car is more competitive than last year.
“We achieved most of our technical goals over the winter. The aim was to fill the gap and improve the car’s performance and drive it over a wider operating window.”
“I wouldn’t be naive enough to sit here right now and say, ‘Look at this room, we’re going to show them all how to do it,’ because that’s not the case.
“But we seem to have taken a step at the moment.”
Most teams currently divide resources between developing their cars for 2021 and preparing for 2022, when a revision of technical regulations threatens to shake the pecking order.
Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri AT02, Esteban Ocon, Alpine A521
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
However, Egginton said AlphaTauri will not deviate from its original plan of when to focus fully on the 2022 car, despite the opportunities this year may present.
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“Honestly, not in my head,” Egginton said when asked if changing the plan was a consideration.
“As good as it all is, 2022 is a huge project, and personally, as the head of the technical group, I don’t think there will be compromises on next year’s car.
“We have to make that happen. The challenge is to maximize our work with this car, given the resources we will have on it and if we migrate resources to the other car.
“But no, I don’t think I could ever be in a good position to say that we’re going to bet more on ’21 and ’22, no. It’s a balancing act for all teams.
“There are already a lot of resources in the technical group assigned to the new car. We’re not putting all the eggs in one basket because we believe this is our chance. We’re trying to get better every year.
“We look like we’re better this year than last year and last year than last year. And that goes for ’22 too. We want to take the next step. I don’t think it would be accepted if we turned around . ” around and compromised the next year. “
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