As it heads to a fresh identity under new team leadership in 2024, there has been a noticeable shift in its approach to the driver line-up too.
Gone is the priority to focus on youth and bring on the latest Red Bull rookies, to see if they have what it takes to cut it in F1 before potentially moving to the energy drink company’s main squad.
Instead, AlphaTauri is about to begin a campaign with its most experienced driver line-up in years with Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda on board.
That shift towards more experience is one that the team’s engineers are rubbing their hands in glee about – because they think the current generation of cars, allied to restrictive testing rules, means F1 has become a tough ask for rookies.
Guillaume Dezoteux, the team’s head of vehicle performance, feels that the value of having wise heads on board has increased dramatically – which is why he and his colleagues are excited about the partnership of Tsunoda and Ricciardo.
“We are looking forward to having this combination of drivers because, obviously, these cars don't run much and they are in constant development,” he explained.
“The car is always slightly different and the experience the driver is able to bring is gold for being able to find a good mechanical set-up.
Source: Autosport