F1 | AlphaTauri completes successful shakedown, Gasly and Tsunoda agree they are "feeling positive" about the AT03
The AT03 completed its first laps on the track as Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda took the challenger on a trip down the Marco Simoncelli circuit.
The Scuderia AlphaTauri successfully completed the shakedown of the all-new AT03 at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, as Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda concluded a combined 100km of running.
Officially the team showed track action at the circuit less than an hour away from Faenza and the team’s base. The French and Japanese drivers experienced wet conditions as well as trying the 18-inch new Pirelli tyres.
Tsunoda, who scored his best finishing position in F1 at the last race of the 2021 season achieving P4 at the checkered flag in Abu Dhabi, expressed he is feeling positive about the team’s 2022 challenger from today’s session: "At a filming day the kilometers in the car are very limited but from what I've discovered so far, I'm feeling positive about the AT03.”
“Now I want to use the next days of testing to build my confidence in this new car, learn as much as I can and provide the engineers with my best possible feedback, to be ready for the start of the season with the race in Bahrain."
doesn't get much better than mixing @f1 cars and race drones 😍 pic.twitter.com/OVyjXpdNb7
— Scuderia AlphaTauri (@AlphaTauriF1) February 22, 2022
As AlphaTauri’s Technical Director Jody Egginton mentions, “it's fair to say that the technical changes made for this upcoming season are the largest made in Formula 1 for a very long time, so it's a big difference this year.” F1 race winner Pierre Gasly concluded today’s shakedown by saying "The new car is really different.”
“I have to say the first feeling driving it was quite good, even if the track was wet and therefore slippery. I really hope this new generation of cars will improve the racing, which is what makes it exciting for all of us drivers.”
“This is a brand-new car, with lots still to be discovered. So, we start now in Barcelona, where we will have a lot of work to do to maximize the six days of testing available to us before we get to the first race in Bahrain."
The team declared they're ready to head to Barcelona for the first pre-season testing which starts tomorrow and will see Yuki Tsunoda driving the AT03 in both of Wednesday’s sessions. Pierre Gasly will take the wheel on Thursday.
