Ahead of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, AlphaTauri riders Nick de Vries and Yuki Tsunoda reviewed the first moto of the season in Bahrain and spoke about their expectations for the upcoming weekend in Jeddah.
Nick deVries: “In Bahrain it was great to start the season and work with the team. We’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time because we’re racers and we want to fight. I am very happy that we had the first race and got into the rhythm.
Some parts of my first F1 weekend were busier than I’m used to, but everything was well organized and under control. In the end, in any professional racing series, all processes are organized in approximately the same way. Of course Formula 1 is much more, but when we talk about the weekend itself, there were no big surprises. I had more communication with the press and other activities, but still the most important events took place on the track.
I think there is no point in hiding that our results are not up to expectations. The team still has a lot of work to do as we need to improve in slow corners, as we saw in Bahrain. I hope the track in Jeddah suits our car better.
The battle in the middle group is incredibly tight, so it will be difficult to fight for points, because there are certainly four teams right in front of us, and this is already eight places. It will be difficult, but we will do our best to take every opportunity.
Tire wear was a big factor in the first race, but that is a characteristic of the Bahrain circuit. The coverage is probably the oldest on the entire calendar, so I’m sure it will be a different story in Saudi Arabia, but let’s see if that works in our favor.
The race pace in Bahrain was a pleasant surprise – it’s clear we can fight. Behind only one race, and the more we spend them, the better idea we get.
Pirelli testing in Bahrain after the Grand Prix proved useful. Any distance covered can only be applauded, especially at this time of the season.
As for Saudi Arabia, I got on the podium last year but never raced on the track. However, I worked a lot on the simulator, especially last week. The racing ring feels cool – fast and challenging. I’m looking forward to the podium, the chance to get back behind the wheel and get to know a new circuit.”
Yuki Tsunoda: “The weekend in Bahrain showed that the speed of the car is far from what we expected, especially given that we wanted to lead the middle group. The car needs to add downforce. On Saturday, the team took a step forward, which allowed me to reach the second part of qualifying, but the speed was not stable enough to make it to the final.
Last year we were battling Williams for ninth in the Constructors’ Championship, which means we have to focus on improving the car. I also have to extract and squeeze everything out of AT04 myself – I succeeded in Bahrain on Sunday, I can say.
I know we have problems, but I hope we will perform better in Saudi Arabia than in Bahrain. I’ll do my best to provide helpful feedback to the team – we’ll see how it goes. I think the fast nature of the track in Jeddah suits our car better, but we’ll see.
Right after the Bahrain Grand Prix I was testing Pirelli, which turned out to be very helpful. At the start of the season, the testing gives a greater advantage than at the end – it is better for the driver to drive as far as possible at the start of the year to better understand the car and the settings. I practically didn’t get out of the cockpit all day and drove many miles!
Last year’s weekend in Saudi Arabia wasn’t the best – several technical issues prevented me from working properly on Saturday and the race didn’t start at all. I like the track though – it’s unique, especially the fast “esks” of the first sector, not found on any other track on the calendar.
Last year’s stage was unsuccessful and disappointing, but qualifying in 2021 suited me well when I showed the eighth fastest time. In 2023 we have a reliable car – there were no serious problems in testing and in the first race, so I’m sure I will spend all sessions from Friday to Sunday this year. I look forward.”
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
