AlphaTauri boss Franz Tost says he never doubted Daniel Ricciardoâs ability to return to form after his dire two seasons at McLaren.
Ricciardo has returned to the team that effectively launched his Formula 1 career to rebuild his reputation, having lost his seat on the grid after being pummelled by Lando Norris over the last two campaigns.
The Australian spent the first six months of the season restoring his driving style in the Red Bull simulator before getting the nod to replace Nyck de Vries at Red Bull sister team AlphaTauri in late July.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSDaniel Ricciardo was surprisingly plucky for a man whoâd finished his previous race stone-cold last.
Just days before arriving in Mexico City, Ricciardo had trundled to 15th at the United States Grand Prix, his first race back from a broken hand ending anonymously a lap down from the leaders.
And yet here he was seemingly brimming with confidence for his second crack behind the wheel.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSDaniel Ricciardo outqualified teammate Yuki Tsunoda at the Hungarian Grand Prix, his first race back in Formula 1, but is keeping expectations in check for what he expects to be a grand prix of difficult lessons.
Ricciardo recorded AlphaTauriâs best qualifying result in five races when he put his car 13th on the grid in Budapest, a result that eclipsed all but one of predecessor Nyck de Vriesâs Saturday performances.
It also put him four places ahead of new teammate Tsunoda, who was knocked out of qualifying in Q1, albeit with a time just 0.013s slower than the Australian in a super-tight session.
Continue reading on RACERDaniel Ricciardo is confident he can avoid the same mistakes that almost ended his career at McLaren in his 12-race stint with AlphaTauri.
Ricciardo arrived at McLaren as one of Formula 1âs most highly rated drivers but was mystifyingly incapable of coming to terms with Wokingâs cars across two different rule sets.
The eight-time race winnerâs problem stemmed from the McLarenâs particular demands on corner entry, with its comparatively weak front axle needing to be loaded up on braking in a way that didnât mesh with his driving style. Efforts to adjust his method behind the wheel generated little joy, and he was released from the team last year, with a year still to run on his contract.
Continue reading on RACERYuki Tsunoda believes former AlphaTauri teammate Nyck de Vries deserved at least two more races to prove himself before losing his seat.
De Vries was dropped from the team after only 10 grands prix to make way for the returning Daniel Ricciardo, who will line up in Faenza colors at this weekendâs Hungarian Grand Prix.
Red Bull management had expressed disappointment that de Vries hadnât been more competitive from the outset given his credentials as a Formula E and Formula 2 champion. Whispers had swirled for weeks that the Dutchman was set to be cut from the team, but Tsunoda said he was shocked that it came so suddenly, with two races still to run before the midseason break.
Continue reading on RACERYuki Tsunoda said news of Franz Tostâs intention to quit his team principal role at the end of the year surprised him despite long-running rumours of impending changes at AlphaTauri.
AlphaTauri announced this week that Tost would be stepping down at the end of the season and would be replaced by current Ferrari racing and sporting director Laurent Mekies, while ex-FIA secretary general Peter Bayer would take over as team CEO.
Rumours of changes to Red Bull-backed team have been rife since the death of company founder CEO Dietrich Mateschitz late last year, with some speculating the team could be moved to the UK to cut costs or be sold completely. Instead it appears Red Bull is satisfied to have restructured the teamâs management for the medium term.
Continue reading on RACERMichael Andretti is having a terrible time attempting to break back into the world of Formula 1.
Andretti, the 1991 CART champion son of 1978 F1 world champion Mario, has been trying to prise his way into the sport for more than a year but has been perpetually rebuffed.
First his attempt to buy Sauber fell flat. Then the sport offered him a lukewarm response to a request to enter as a new constructor.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSPiastri âopposite of Danielâ as debut looms; Stroll fitness in doubt for first race: F1 Pit Talk
Oscar Piastriâs long-awaited debut looms large this week, with just days remaining before the heralded Aussie finally turns a wheel in anger in the premier class.
But despite cracking F1 in his own right after a glittering junior career, comparisons with McLaren predecessor Daniel Ricciardo are never far from hand.
While both drivers have moved on from last yearâs messy silly season merry-go-round, itâs now up to Piastri to carve out a place for himself in the F1 landscape.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSScuderia AlphaTauri F1 driver Yuki Tsunoda joins hosts Matt Clayton and Michael Lamonato to talk about the beginnings of his European motorsport journey in 2018, adjusting to life far away from Japan, repairing his confidence after a challenging F1 rookie season, his relationship with teammate Pierre Gasly and that Silverstone crash and his excitement of F1 returning to Suzuka for this October’s Japanese Grand Prix, while we wrap up Sunday’s French Grand Prix won by Max Verstappen.
Pierre Gasly topped the first official timed session of the 2022 Formula 1 season for AlphaTauri, leading Ferrari teammates Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz in first practice at the Bahrain Grand Prix. The Frenchman used the soft tire with around 15 minutes remaining to edge the Ferrari driver to the top time by 0.364s.
âWhat a lap,â exclaimed his impressed engineer. âThat was nice. We get into the mojo now.â
But Ferrariâs pace was more eye-catching, for neither Leclerc nor Sainz, who was less than half a tenth further back, used the soft-compound tire yet were both comfortably within half a second of the lead. Leclerc even had time to spin his car on the red-marked rubber that would carry him to his quickest time and still finish the session second overall.
Continue reading on RACERPierre Gasly mastered a soaking Istanbul track to top final practice at the Turkish Grand Prix ahead of Max Verstappen.
The Frenchman was among a group of drivers to set their flying laps on intermediate rubber with around 15 minutes remaining, and though Verstappen embarked on his final flyer with just 20 seconds left, the track drying all the time, he could get to within only 0.164s of Gaslyâs benchmark.
Lewis Hamilton finished a lowly 18th after calling it a day with just five laps completed in the inclement weather, the Briton 3.189s adrift.
Continue reading on RACERPierre Gasly topped final practice at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix after pole favorite Max Verstappen crashed out of the session less than halfway through.
Verstappen was only five laps into his program on the hard tire when he carried too much speed into Turn 15 on the fast run down the hill, coming to a halt with his right-front tire in the barrier.
Unable to engage reverse and anyway with a broken track rod, the devastated Dutchman left his car in situ, prompting a red flag. TV cameras caught him slumped and collecting his thoughts on a concrete block before returning to pit lane.
Continue reading on RACERFormula One rarely serves up races like the Italian Grand Prix, but Pierre Gaslyâs win for AlphaTauri ahead of Carlos Sainz and Lance Stroll completely flipped the script.
Before this mad Monza race F1 had gone been 147 races â more than seven years â since anyone other than a Mercedes, Red Bull Racing or Ferrari driver topped the podium.
And in a season dominated by Mercedes, it took some plot twists to take Gasly to the top step.
A French-speaking driver in an Italian car wins the Italian Grand Prix, exactly as expected. Valtteri Bottas decided the championship isnât for him. We accidentally upset someone named Bert.
I review the action from the 2020 Italian Grand Prix with Luca Manacorda from motorbox.com
Pierre Gasly is the first Frenchman to win a Formula 1 race in 24 years after claiming his maiden victory in a thriller at the Italian Grand Prix.
The 24-year-old AlphaTauri driver beat McLarenâs Carlos Sainz and Racing Pointâs Lance Stroll to the flag after inheriting the lead from poleman Lewis Hamilton, who served a stop-go penalty for a tyre change while pit lane was closed.
But Hamilton wasnât the only frontrunner to hit trouble, with a slew of problems creating a perfect storm to deliver the unpredictable podium.
Pierre Gasly has won his maiden Formula 1 victory for AlphaTauri in a chaotic Italian Grand Prix at Monza.
Continue reading on RACER