Last week in Monaco, AlphaTauri and Yuki Tsunoda failed to score. At the upcoming Spanish Grand Prix, the team expects to bounce back and fully appreciate the effectiveness of the new products that first appeared on the machines in Monaco.
Nick deVries: “I am happy that we are returning to the track immediately after Monaco, where we had some positive moments, although the end result did not live up to expectations. I had a clean and clear weekend – my best qualifying of the season, and in terms of speed I was closer to the top ten than ever.
The team put new things on the car and apparently they worked, but we have to wait for Barcelona, where we will get answers, because the track in Monaco is not entirely representative. This means that we have a lot of work to do in Friday practice.
Like most riders, I spent a lot of time in Barcelona. I raced here in GP3, in Formula 2 I won the sprint in 2019, and the year before that I was second in the Sunday race. Everyone has a huge amount of information about this number, because it has been tested many times. In addition, we worked a lot on the simulator. I love playing in Barcelona – a typical European circuit, and the Spanish fans are overwhelmed with enthusiasm.
I like the Spanish podium and the track and I want to ride the new configuration, although in fact it is not new, but old. However you look at it, we have a good Grand Prix ahead of us and the circuit’s location next to Barcelona means fans can not only enjoy the racing, but also the city.”
Yuki Tsunoda: “I enjoyed the stage in Monaco until it started to rain on Sunday. The team and I did a good job in practice and in qualifying I reached the final for the first time on this circuit. Everything went well in the race too, we pitted at the right time, but then there were problems with the brakes, which made it difficult to stay in the top ten.
I’m glad we’re going straight to Barcelona. Last time I finished tenth here. In Monaco the team gathered a lot of information about new products, but at the Spanish circuit we will get a clear picture of their work and understand if we can claim points regularly.
I raced this circuit in GP3 for the first time in 2019 and the following season in Formula 2 I finished fourth in both races. I have already tested the new configuration in the simulator – I think Fernando Alonso is the only one who remembers it from the races of yesteryear!
The elimination of the last chicane will make the lap much faster than previous years. I don’t know if this makes overtaking easier, but it’s interesting to see. Two fast corners at the end of the lap can affect tire degradation, which is already high on this track, so a different approach is required. In previous years during qualifying the tires could have worn out towards the end of the lap, but with the emergence of new high-speed corners it is not as important to accelerate out of them effectively.
I went straight to Spain from Monaco to find time for extra training, which is not easy during double races.
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.
