AlphaTauri became the second F1 outfit to present its 2021 car, the AT02, in a launch event in Austria.
After McLaren, AlphaTauri became the second F1 team to unveil its 2021 car, the AT02, in a special launch in Austria alongside a fashion show. Both Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda were present for the unveiling, with the Frenchman back in Europe from Dubai.
Tsunoda has had multiple runs in older F1 cars, both at Imola and Misano, while Gasly hasn’t. It is unclear but there is a high chance that AlphaTauri holds a filming day to shake down the 2021 machine, fitted with a new Honda power unit.
The livery combination is same as blue and white like the 2020 season – which is the corporate colour of AlphaTauri – but the positioning is different, as the blue is more on top half of the car for 2021, while the white is mostly in the down part of F1 car.
“I’m ready to take on the role of team leader. Yuki is a very quick driver, and he will help us move the team forward – we will work together to achieve that,” said Gasly. “I really believe last year was the team’s best in terms of the way it worked, the development, the performance and the way it managed the race weekends. I’m always hungry for more, and I’m sure we can achieve great things in 2021.”
At the same time, newcomer Tsunoda, added: “I’ve been lucky enough to spend some time with Scuderia AlphaTauri ahead of the season, so I’m already developing strong relationships and learning a lot from them – including Pierre, who is an incredible talent. My main goal is to learn quickly and deliver results as soon as possible, and I’m really excited to get started.”
And finally, Franz Tost, stated: “The decision to go for Pierre and Yuki in 2021 was taken because Scuderia AlphaTauri’s philosophy is still to give talented young drivers from the Red Bull Junior Program the opportunity to step up to F1 and to educate them – this is why Yuki now gets his chance.
“With Pierre on Yuki’s side we have an experienced driver, who can help our Japanese rookie to develop faster, but at the same time we can aim for good results. I think this pair is the best possible scenario to achieve both our targets, and I’m also confident this will be a successful one.”
https://twitter.com/AlphaTauriF1/status/1362673344433303553?s=20
Here’s the engine fire-up plus launch dates
Here’s 2021 F1 launches so far:
Alpine – interim livery
More to come