AlphaTauri is looking forward to coming back into the usual point-scorers in Formula 1, as the category makes its next stop in Spain for the sixth race of the season at Barcelona.

After scoring a DNF and a final P12 at Miami, Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda are aiming to improve the performance of their AT03 to get themselves in the strong fight that is the midfield of the grid in this F1 season. They spoke to the media on Thursday at Montmeló explaining their limitations with the challenger.

The Frenchman said: “For various reasons, we never really managed to just get a clean qualifying, clean race, no issues and maximise the points at the end of the day, which is what we’ve got to do. In the midfield, we’ve got six cars which are able to finish between seventh and tenth, so it’s quite difficult, but at the same time it’s a good challenge and it just puts more pressure on ourselves to deliver at a higher level.”

“Like last year, even sometimes we’d perform at 98-99 percent of our potential and still be there. This year, I don’t feel we’ve got that buffer compared to last year. We just need to be excellent every single time, especially if we want to score the points.”

About his specific struggles with the car, Gasly stated: “I think it's mainly aerodynamics. We know that's the main thing, and we're trying to find more from the floor, trying to be more efficient and trying to find less drag.”

“I think the front at the moment is not as strong as I like. Specifically in medium and low-speed corners. And the car is sliding a bit. I don't think there are any secrets and that's where we need to improve. At the moment we just need more load on that car.”

Teammate Yuki Tsunoda explained the issues on his car, as the team sits seventh in the constructors’ championship so far.

“I'd say pretty much the same [problems as Gasly]. I think we give pretty similar feedback to the engineers, which is probably good for the team, when guessing which direction to go. Also I'd say I had a little of a grip issue. I had a little bit on the Miami race that I think was a big disadvantage and I lost a couple of points there. Those things we can do better especially fighting for points and causing more of an impact,” he concluded.

the battle of the midfield is gonna heat up in Spain! 🔥​ @pierregasly & @yukitsunoda07 look ahead to the #SpanishGP ​👇

— Scuderia AlphaTauri (@AlphaTauriF1) May 17, 2022