AlphaTauri riders Nick de Vries and Yuki Tsunoda shared how they managed a break between the stages in Melbourne and Baku, and shared their expectations for the first Saturday sprint stage of the season.
Nick deVries: “Right after Melbourne I quickly returned to the UK to spend a day in the simulator, working on data correlation and preparing for the races that will take place after the break.
I then took a short trip to the Netherlands to fulfill a few commitments and then attended a football match between Milan and Naples. I got a cool experience because the Champions League is an important event. It’s always great to watch sports in the stadium because television doesn’t fully convey all emotions in my opinion. Watching the match of 22 players in the stadium with 80,000 seats gives you goosebumps from the atmosphere and emotions.
I experienced similar emotions at the beginning of the year when, after the presentation of the car’s livery in New York, we went to the NBA game between the Brooklyn Nets and the Chicago Bulls. I like to go to sporting events.
Then I attended a tennis tournament in Monaco. It was quieter on the courts, although I went to Stefanos Tsitsipas’ match, so it wasn’t easy to keep emotions in check! I follow tennis closely, as many tennis players live in Monaco and go to the same gym as me. Some of us even live in the same house.
There was a coach with me in Monaco, so we worked hard. Plus, I was happy to spend some time at home. Now I’m ready for the next five races in six weeks – we’re waiting for a busy schedule.
My first race weekend in sprint format is coming to Baku. It will be difficult to prepare for qualifying in just one hour of practice, but I have raced at this circuit before and finished second in Formula 2 three times. We are all delighted to be back behind the wheel after a long break send to sit.
Baku has a unique circuit. On city roads it is usually quite difficult to overtake, but due to the extremely long straights there are opportunities to overtake. Therefore, the races in Baku usually turn out to be eventful, and I hope everything will work out in our favor and the team will have a reason to celebrate.
I feel like we are making progress, but the battle in the middle group is very tight. Claiming points is difficult, since in a “normal” race almost all ten places are already taken. We have to be prepared to exploit every mistake of those who usually finish in the top ten.
Although I see signs of progress, in Baku a lot depends on maximum speed, while on the straights we are not very competitive. Let’s see how it turns out.”
Yuki Tsunoda: “Most of the time after the race in Australia I spent at home in Italy. Sometimes I went to Milan, but mostly I trained, so I feel rested and ready to race. Last week I got behind the wheel of the simulator again.
I’ve done pretty well in Baku in the past, qualifying eighth the last two years and finishing seventh in 2021. Last year my car failed DRS when I was sixth and ended up finishing thirteenth.
I have good memories and I like the job. In the last two years, the car fit the track and the team understood its characteristics well. I hope it will be the same this year and we can earn points. The team has prepared novelties, including a low-downforce rear wing, which should suit this track.
This year we have problems with the maximum speed, but in Baku it is necessary. I hope the updates will help, and the settings will make the car fit on the Azerbaijani track. This weekend I’m sticking to my usual optimistic approach and looking forward to getting back behind the wheel after a long break.
It is the first sprint weekend of the season. The format has changed, so I’m more excited than usual. Due to the changes we only have one training available, so the work on the simulator is even more important.
The last session on the simulator turned out to be very successful. We first summarized Australia to better understand the car, and then we focused on preparing for the races in Baku and Miami, because right after Azerbaijan we go to Florida.
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.
