AlphaTauri drivers Nick de Vries and Yuki Tsunoda spoke about the preparations for the home round of the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix team and the characteristics of the Imola circuit.
Nick deVries: “It was a great show in Miami. It is clear that the initiators have invested a lot. I didn’t race last year but I attended the Grand Prix and I can say that the organizers have improved a lot to make the stage even better – it turned out great!
The Miami Grand Prix is very different from European weekends. Americans know how to organize entertainment during a sporting event. However, I am happy to be back in Europe and racing on the tracks I know.
It all starts this weekend in Imola for AlphaTauri’s home event. I’ve played for Italian teams in other series, so I know how important the home race is for them. The base is next to the railway, many employees will come to see the result of their hard work and greet us.
Imola has an interesting circuit. It is quite narrow compared to modern ones, so it is difficult to overtake. There are different types of corners here, so you need a car that is effective in all corners. We had a collision in Imola before the start of the season, which should help. We are waiting for a busy schedule for three weekends in a row. It will be difficult, especially for mechanics, but personally I’m not afraid.
After the Miami race I returned to the UK to work on the simulator. We started by correlating data from Miami and then prepared for the next three steps. Then I drove home for a short time, and then Yuki and I went to Poland for the Orlen event and celebrated his birthday together.
It’s great that the first European race of the season is home to the team. We hope for a good result. The past two weekends have been difficult but inspiring moments. Now the main thing is to assemble all the components – I’m sure the result will come.
Yuki Tsunoda: “Almost a quarter of the season is behind us. The start turned out to be quite tricky, but I’m happy with my form and the fact that I’ve never finished below 11th and finished 10th twice. The stage in Miami turned out to be difficult and I didn’t expect to have pace in the race. The team has done an excellent job on this.
After the race I was very busy. I first flew to the UK to work on the simulator, celebrated my birthday on Thursday and went to the Orlen event in Poland. I got a nice gift from them – a T-shirt of football player Robert Lewandowski, who now plays for Barcelona.
Now it’s time for Imola – the home ground for the team and me, so I’m looking forward to it. Last year I finished seventh, although I qualified sixteenth, so I have good memories.
The stage is important for many reasons. First we will introduce some new products, and I hope they work. We have high hopes for the updates and look forward to taking a major step forward. If expectations are met, it is necessary to maximize opportunities and earn points. To get this result, I have to keep pushing the car to the max, as I have done for the last five races.
There will be a lot of base team members coming to the home podium, so it’s important to show them that they’re doing well and to motivate them for the future.
I’m also happy because Imola has an interesting track where we had a pre-season run-in this year. It is interesting to fly on it, but you need to be careful – as soon as you cross the white line, you immediately find yourself on the grass. The Imola is somewhat similar to the Suzuka in that sense, and also because of some combinations of corners and esques, such as turns two through five.
I can sleep in my bed and not in a hotel, so the race at Imola is really home. Last year we achieved excellent results. I think everything will be fine!”
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.
