Egginton: We hope to fight for points from race one

Shortly after the start of the tests in Bahrain, Jody Egginton, technical director of AlphaTauri, spoke about the tasks for the tests, about the team’s riders and about the tasks for the upcoming season.

Jody Egginton: “We decided to dedicate the morning session, when Yuki Tsunoda is riding, to testing the effectiveness of the aerodynamics. Now it is important to collect as much information as possible, so a special design with many sensors was mounted on the machine.

To begin with, it was necessary to establish the degree of agreement between what happens on the track, the results of research in a wind tunnel and the use of CFD technologies. Then we dismantled the external sensor system and Yuki and the team started working on the AT04 balance.

Last season did not go the way we wanted for AlphaTauri, after which we spent a lot of time analyzing the reasons for this, because it was necessary to precisely define the plan for further actions in order to, as in previous years, again one of the strongest teams in the middle of the peloton.

There is a lot to do, we have taken an aggressive approach to the development of a new car, made serious changes in the design, in the aerodynamics, with an emphasis on research in a wind tunnel. We tried to solve the problems inherent in the AT03, achieve an increase in downforce and improve other aerodynamic indicators.

The initial break-in period went smoothly, without any problems, and it was the first opportunity to ensure that we were generally meeting the goals we had set ourselves, including in terms of reducing the weight of the chassis. And now we continue to collect all kinds of information about the tests, but judging by the initial data, we really managed to increase the efficiency of the aerodynamics significantly.

Now we need to decide on the directions for further refinement of the machine, but the most important thing in the tests is that the equipment works reliably. During tests it’s always difficult to understand what the rivals are doing, it’s like a game of cat and mouse because we don’t know who has what settings, what engine operating modes and how much fuel is in the tanks.

Once we understand exactly how effective the new chassis is, it will become clear what to do next. It is important that Yuki Tsunoda has a new partner this year, Nick de Vries – a beginner on the one hand, an experienced professional on the other. We’re actively working with him, he’s asking engineers a lot of questions, sharing some of his ideas – it’s great that he’s already pushing them with all his might. We expect a lot from Nick, he expects a lot from us, but so far things are going pretty positive.

Of course we hope to fight for points regularly since the Bahrain Grand Prix. Modern Formula 1 is such that if you want to be one of the best teams in the mid-group, you have to consistently earn points, and that with both cars. This is the goal we have set for ourselves, but the battle promises to be very sharp as our rivals have also become stronger.”