With the 2023 season coming to an end, we were able to observe the different performance that the different teams and drivers had throughout the year.
In this piece, we will focus on AlphaTauri. The Red Bull junior team began the year with Yuki Tsunoda and Nyck De Vries as its starting drivers. The former Formula E champion had a bad run of results and, according to Red Bull’s main advisor, Helmut Marko, his performance was not up to par with Formula 1, so they decided to part ways with him before the Hungarian Grand Prix. In came former Toro Rosso and Red Bull star Daniel Ricciardo.
During the Dutch Grand Prix, the Australian driver had a serious crash, where he fractured his wrist and left him out of his AlphaTauri until the United States Grand Prix, when he was fit to drive again.
In the meantime, Liam Lawson took control of the AT04. The New Zealand driver even got two points, and by the time Daniel Ricciardo’s 2023 return was completee, the Australian got 6 points thanks to a P7 in Mexico.
2024 will be a very interesting year for the Italian team. AlphaTauri has a new management team from CEO Peter Bayer, in addition to Laurent Mekies leaving his former position as sporting director at Ferrari to join AlphaTauri as its new team principal. In addition to this, the team was expected to change its name,
However, today the FIA published the 2024 F1 Official Entry List and the Italian team continues to appear as “Scuderia AlphaTauri RB” — for now.
Following confirmation at Suzuka that Yuki Tsunoda and veteran Daniel Ricciardo will remain as their drivers for 2024, the Australian driver has shared his thoughts on the situation at AlphaTauri and how he doesn’t believe it is still Red Bull Racing’s junior team.
“I feel like we’re going in the right direction. And honestly, everything I fed back to the team, I feel like they’ve actioned or done their best to make it happen or make it work,” Ricciardo stated. “So honestly, I can’t ask for too much more at the moment. It’s obviously now just how quickly can we get new parts on the car, and this and that.”
Photo Credit: Red Bull Content Pool
“I would say, I don’t want to be like patronising, but their heads are in the right place. I feel like we’re all kind of meeting in the right place and looking ahead,” the honey badger commented. “I think they value the experience I have, and I think that’s really important kind of moving forward, and they’re motivated.
“I feel like this is not a junior team anymore. And I think with a lot of plans for next year hopefully we can prove that on track and get more points, like the last few races.”
With only 7 Grands Prix raced, Daniel Ricciardo finished in P17 in the drivers’ championship with a total of 6 points, while his teammate, Yuki Tsunoda, finished in P14 with 17 points. This was the third full season for the Japanese driver, so he is no longer considered a rookie at all. This is what Ricciardo thinks about the situation of drivers within the team.
“I feel like there’s a lot for me kind of coming back in that’s really exciting. I think there’s also a team that is kind of rebuilding, a little bit like how I’ve kind of done this phase in my career. So we’re all kind of on a similar path.
“I would say there’s a lot of confidence. And I think Yuki’s season, I think he stepped up a lot and kind of proved himself. I would like to think Yuki and myself pushed each other a little bit, and that was positive for the team.
“There’s a lot that the team can kind of be excited for moving into next year. Of course seventh would be nice, but a few races ago, we were talking about not finishing 10th. It gives us a little bit more to fight for next year.”
