De Vries 'more ready than ever' as first Grand Prix approaches

Just like its competitors, Alpha Tauri prepares for the return of the circus Formula 1 in Bahrain for the first Grand Prix of the year. And this exercise promises to be perilous for the Faenza garage after a more than mixed 2022 campaign. The AT03 was capricious, incomprehensible, in its good times and in its bad times, insufficient in any case to take Haas 8th position in the Manufacturers. Pierre Gasly leaving for Alpine leaves room for a more experienced rookie, Nyck de Vries. « I knew from October that I would be on the grid, so the wait was long and I waited for this moment not for the last five, six, seven months, but my whole life. I'm more ready than ever! » declares the Dutchman.

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De Vries waited a long time for his turn in Formula 1, yet won a championship title in Formula 2 with ART Grand Prix in 2019 and a coronation in Formula E next to Mercedes in 2021. At 28 years old, he has taken part in several categories and has already driven in four different Formula 1 cars. So, he approaches this first season as a starter with calm and philosophy: « When you're in the car and the engine is on, you're pretty alone, everything's pretty quiet, it's you and the car, explains de Vries. So I don't think it will be much different from another grid waiting for the lights to go out. It's just another car. I don't think I'll feel particularly different, it's more the surrounding ecosystem that will make a real difference during the weekends and the days before. But, otherwise, I have experienced plenty of departures, this will be one more. »

Opposite, Yuki tsunoda will begin his third season in the sister team of Red Bull, where he will have to prove himself more than ever to keep his place. The Austrian house is not the most patient with its drivers, and six young members of the Red Bull academy will be on the starting grid in the Formula 1 lobby. But Tsunoda has taken the lead: “ I'm really looking forward to riding again. This year, my goal is to perform more consistently throughout the weekend. There have been some changes, I have a new coach and several new engineers, but I feel well prepared personally. »

AlphaTauri, good students in winter testing

To prepare for the season, the three days of pre-season testing were essential for all the teams. And AlphaTauri was the best performer, totaling 456 laps, the most in the entire grid. Nyck de Vries was the second driver to have completed the most loops of the Bahrain circuit, behind Fernando Alonso and its additional half-day. “ We did a lot of laps, during which we were able to run our program and learn a lot about our package by testing different things, says the Dutchman. It's difficult to get a good read on where we are because the middle of the grid looks very tight, hopefully we can be in there. I think 2 tenths is enough to upset the order, it's a challenge but we will do our best. » 

With his experience from last year, Tsunoda adds: “ There are some aspects of the package where I feel a real improvement over last year's car, and others where we still have work to do. Overall it was a good test where we were the team that covered the most distance, with a mix of long runs and performance tests and so far the reliability seems good. This was a problem at the start of last season, it's encouraging to see an improvement and we must maintain this momentum this weekend. »

Another improvement noted by the Japanese pilot on the AT04 is the increase in the amount of aerodynamic downforce. Where its predecessor moved a lot and, therefore, made tire economy difficult, the car of 2023 does not seem to suffer more from this problem. “ The tires have changed for this season, recalls the Japanese pilot. And, during last week's tests, I felt that they acted differently, especially on long stints. So we had to adapt like everyone else. The degradation seemed quite high, but I did most of the relays in warm conditions and during the day whereas, this weekend, the most important moments took place at night with a cooler temperature. »

The race will take place at 16 p.m. on Sunday March 5, and the two drivers from the Italian garage have a season of 23 meetings to complete to restore color to AlphaTauri and move up the rankings.

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