Each week we will preview a different F1 team and their outlook for the 2020 season. This week we'll start with our projected 7th place team, AlphaTauri, and go down all the way to our projected No. 1 team.
Overview: With a clean slate heading into the 2020 season, AlphaTauri F1’s newest team. Formerly, the team raced under the name Toro Russo, but in an effort by owners at Red Bull to promote their fashion brand which bears the name AlphaTauri, the name was changed. Besides that, not much has changed over this offseason. Experienced drivers Pierre Gasly and Daniil Kvyat both return, the engine will continue to be produced by Honda and the headquarters remain in Italy. The outlook is positive overall heading into this season, but it looks to be hit or miss as to whether AlphaTauri can contend with the middle of the pack.
“I think Scuderia AlphaTauri is a fantastic project, a new adventure. There's the end of the story of Toro Rosso for sure, which is quite emotional for me because they gave me my first opportunity in Formula 1, but there's a new chapter coming with Scuderia AlphaTauri.”
Driver Pierre Gasly
Drivers: Pierre Gasly (France) and Daniil Kvyat (Russia)
Besides half of the 2019 season spent with Red Bull, Gasly has spent his entire F1 career with Toro Russo, three seasons and counting. While he wasn’t deemed to be the “right guy” to drive for Red Bull in 2019, his speed is much better than most and it showed at the Brazilian Grand Prix last year. It earned him his first podium finish in a season of ups and downs, as he took second place in the 20th race of the year. “This is the best day of my life,” he announced after the thrilling race in which he held off Lewis Hamilton to cross the finish line second. In his split season last year, he scored 95 points which was more than Renault, Toro Russo, Racing Point, Haas and Williams’ point totals.
Kvyat has double the years of experience Gasly has, having raced in F1 for six years. Last year, he returned to Toro Russo for the third time in his career, after gaining much-needed experience in 2018 as one of Ferrari’s development drivers. By mid season in 2019, Alexander Albon was promoted from Toro Russo to Red Bull, causing wide confusion amongst the media considering Kvyat had outperformed Albon up to that point. Heading into 2020, the chance to earn one of the seats at Red Bull is still in the picture for the 26 year old Kvyat who has been consistent and kept good pace during his career. Should a similar situation occur this year, where Red Bull looks to replace one of their drivers during the season due to poor performance, Kvyat will make sure he is not passed up on again.
Together, Gasly and Kvyat can keep AlphaTauri in the hunt for victories on each race day.
At preseason testing…
Preseason testing showed some encouraging signs for the team, whose car was quick and solid through all six days of the event. Both drivers felt very comfortable in the car, especially Gasly who feels like the car has “good potential.” With a slightly improved car, there is expectation from the media for the team to finish sixth this season.
Past:
Because there is not much history to speak of a team that has never appeared in a single race, we’ll take a look out at the brief stint under the name Toro Russo. While the team debuted in 2006, their first and only race victory did not come until 2008, when Sebastian Vettel took first at the 14th race of the season. Unfortunately for them, there was little success that followed that victory, until Gasly took second last season. In their 14 history, multiple current F1 drivers have raced for the team, such Vettel, Carlos Sainz, Max Verstappen, and Daniel Ricciardo. Together the three have combined for 181 podiums in their F1 careers.
The future:
With two young, but talented drivers behind the wheel for AlphaTauri, the first season under the new name should hopefully bring a new level of success for the team. Drivers typically don’t stay too long with the team, but even for one year, this duo of Gasly and Kvyat should combine well. And moving forwards? Considering they are owned by Red Bull, who typically gets some of the best prospects out of F2 and F3, the future should continue to show promise for AlphaTauri.
F1 News Release
Over the weekend, news was released that F1 intends to kick off its season five months late beginning on July 5 in Austria. Similar to plans by other sports, there would be no fans and only necessary personnel on the race track itself.
There would also be strict quarantine measures, making teams stay within their own groups and not allowed to set up the motorhomes which are typically brought to each race and serve as the headquarters at each race weekend.
The plan would be for two races on consecutive weekends in Austria. After that, plans are cloudy as to where the F1 circuit would go to next.
Mixed opinions have arisen amongst the drivers, such as reigning world champion, Lewis Hamilton, who said, “For us it’s going to be like a test day, probably even worse than a test day in a sense," the Mercedes driver told 13Wham.com. "On a test day there’s not a huge amount of people in Barcelona, but there are still some.”
It is the way sports will have to be played for now, odd for the fans but even odder for the athletes competing, who are used to the momentum and energy the crowd provides. At least, though, F1 racing will be back if all goes according to plan.
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