Lawson: Before Monza there will be an opportunity to prepare

AlphaTauri drivers are preparing for the Monza stage in a special mood, as this is the home race for the team from Faenza, but if Yuki Tsunoda will start the Italian Grand Prix for the third time, then Liam Lawson will be such a have experience for the first time.

Yuki Tsunoda: “The weather in Zandvoort made life difficult for all teams, including us. When we talk about our performance, there were pluses and minuses: I’m happy with my pace, I was quite fast in practice and in the race, but on Sunday we made mistakes in choosing the tactics.

The decision to stay on the track for a long time on already worn soft tires did not work and in the end I could not achieve normal grip on the intermediate rubber. But now we have to turn that page, because the team is waiting for our home Grand Prix.

I like Monza, it’s really interesting to fly there. The track is very fast, everyone is tuning the cars to the lowest level of downforce, so braking for the chicanes is not easy, and the hardest thing to do is before the first corner.

Qualifying is always a different story as everyone wants to gain an advantage by taking advantage of the slipstream behind other cars. Our AT04 handles fast corners well, so the Italian circuit should suit us.

At Spa we already tried settings with a little pressure and then everything was fine with the balance of the car, although it is still difficult to say what speeds we will really be able to reach next weekend.

It is very important for our team, especially after the cancellation of the May round in Imola at the circuit closest to the AlphaTauri base. I know the team members are looking forward to Monza, especially the Italians, so obviously we hope to get a good result there.”

Liam Lawson: “It is good that before Monza I will have the opportunity to fully prepare for the weekend and participate in all training sessions.

From Japan, where I had driven the weekend before, I only arrived in Zandvoort on Thursday evening. It is clear that you always want to prepare yourself as best as possible, but the probability that my services will be needed is extremely small, and I did not expect such a development of events at all, but this is exactly what happened.

The team supported me tremendously and did everything possible for my preparation, even though we were limited in time. Even during the race, Pierre Amlin, my engineer, did the right thing and provided me with all the information I needed. In fact, he guided me during the Grand Prix, which greatly simplified my task, although of course there are always points that can be improved.

During the race I had to fly in very different conditions, and then it was difficult, but I gained useful experience that will help me prepare for Monza.

Plus, I’ve already been working on the simulator this week, and while it wasn’t necessary to put a lot of effort into getting a more comfortable cockpit fit, there were a few things to look out for.

Monza requires minimal downforce and I have to get used to that. I haven’t been there in a Formula 1 car so it will be difficult for me, but I’ve driven this track many times and it’s not the hardest. In any case, there will be a lot to learn, a lot to improve in the work, and also to analyze all the information collected in Zandvoort to make the most of it.

I’m going to Monza with the Italian team and that alone makes the weekend special. Formula 1 is a completely different world, and at Zandvoort I couldn’t imagine feeling this huge difference between the state I showed up on the track on Friday and what it was like when I got there on Saturday. First of all, I am talking about the degree of attention to me.

Monza is the home race for AlphaTauri and I can imagine there will be even more attention there. But it’s incredibly great that I got the chance to drive in Formula 1, because as far back as I can remember I’ve dreamed of it, so I’ll try to do my very best.”