Jody Egginton says AlphaTauri will get brand new 2022 parts from Red Bull due to regulation change as he adds on about chassis, aero, power unit and more.
The new rules for 2022 are now well set in stone and all F1 personnel are well versed in what is ahead for the forthcoming season. One thing has remained the same and that is AlphaTauri are still the sister team to Red Bull.
For years now, AlphaTauri have sourced parts from Red Bull. But this season is a touch different and owing to new regulations, they will receive the same 2022 parts as used by the senior F1 outfit – like the gearbox, rear suspension and hydraulics.
Adding further, Egginton, AlphaTauri’s Technical Director gives a more in-depth analysis of the AT03 launched on Monday albeit with more to come when the car hits the track. He speaks on chassis along with the big aerodynamic shift from last era.
As has been the theme, aerodynamics is being viewed as the biggest area of change which will be seen across the teams. Egginton speaks on the first test and how they are approaching it, while adding on Honda power unit set-up remaining the same.
Here’s what the AlphaTauri technical chief said:
2022 parts from Red Bull Technology and not old ones –
Egginton: “For 2022, the areas of synergy are at the rear end – gearbox, hydraulics, rear suspension, which is a pretty similar arrangement to what we have had in the past. The difference is that, because of the regulation change, both teams will be running the same specification of parts in 2022, whereas before we ran parts to a year-old design from Red Bull.”
New chassis amid regulation change –
Egginton: “The new regulations include significant changes to the crash test requirements, including dimensional changes resulting in a larger chassis structure. The changes to the chassis homologation tests are obviously welcome as they further improve safety, but they required a great deal of effort in order to firstly pass the various tests and also optimise the structure, whilst also minimising mass increase and compromise to aero development. However, it’s fair to say that the design process of the 2022 chassis has gone pretty much to plan, as did homologation.”
Aero side changes, simpler wings, new floor –
Egginton: “With the change to the aero regulations being extensive, there is clearly a lot of scope to experiment with new ideas and new aero concepts, but at the same time the new regulations also provide an increased risk of going down the wrong development path. I am quite sure there is plenty of scope for teams to come up with innovative aero solutions but at the same time, I expect that the hidden details of aero development will be a significant contributor to what teams are able to achieve from the aero regulations. I’m pretty confident people are going to turn up at the first test with an interesting range of interpretations of the regulations and this will provoke discussion and investigation of possible development directions for all the teams’ in-season development plans”.
First test, thoughts and expectations –
Egginton: “We’ve been developing the process of how we work for the last two to three years and we’ve applied that to this car as well. Statistically and from the results we’ve had in the last period, we’ve been reasonably successful, so I would say we’re on the right trajectory in terms of how we are operating. However, it’s not as simple as that as it’s a clean sheet of paper for 2022 which provides potential rewards but also carries risk. The rate at which the car is being developed is a key metric but an important question is, how far are we down the ‘development’ road relative to the competition? You don’t really get to know that until the first race of the season when the gloves come off”.
Honda PU, ditto set-up –
Egginton: “Yes, it is a continuation in many respects. We’re super happy to carry on working with the same guys. I think our relationship with Honda has been a very good one. It’s been fantastic for the team and we’ve contributed to some of the successes, so we’re happy to carry on with that. We’ve been working with the same PU guys for a long while now and that pays dividends. You know where you are and you understand each other. Any continuation of that can only be a good thing.”
New rules and regulations, designed to level up the playing field for 2022 should indeed bring the grid closer together. AlphaTauri had a strong season in 2021 and were in regular battle with Alpine and Aston Martin. Their qualifying speed was very admirable too.
Now with the same parts as their sister team and a competitive driver line-up, it would not be surprising to see them take the fight to their big brother counterparts as well as the other major players in the field.
Here’s the 2022 AlphaTauri livery