AlphaTauri's triple header resurgence
The team quadrupled their 2023 points tally during the back-to-back-to-back races in the Americas.
AlphaTauri has been the slowest F1 team for much of 2023, but both Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo hauled themselves into the points in this month’s triple header, massively boosting the team’s championship standing.
Before the races in the US, Mexico, and Brazil, AlphaTauri was sitting plum last in the constructors’ championship with just five measly points. Their car had only finished inside the top ten in four of the first 17 races.
But something changed during the triple header.
In just three races, AlphaTauri quadrupled their points tally and overtook Haas and Alfa Romeo in the championship. They scored points at each weekend and in Mexico, Daniel Ricciardo was only a few tenths off pole position.
So, what sparked the sudden uptick in form?
In the US, AlphaTauri introduced an upgraded floor and team boss Franz Tost only had praise for it at the time, saying: “The aero department did a good job.”
In the race, Yuki Tsunoda finished 10th on the road with the fastest lap, though he was later promoted to 8th after Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were disqualified.
Still, AlphaTauri’s pace didn’t turn that many heads in the US.
The same can’t be said, however, for the next race in Mexico, where Daniel Ricciardo shocked everyone by qualifying a sensational 4th.
Ricciardo backed that strong grid slot up the next day in the race, delivering what Motorsport.com described as a “gutsy drive” to finish 7th, netting six valuable points.
AlphaTauri should’ve had both cars in the points in Mexico, but Yuki Tsunoda ruined his race by colliding with Oscar Piastri just over 20 laps from the end.
During the Mexico weekend, Ricciardo told ESPN that AlphaTauri’s pace was “no fluke”.
He said he made a setup breakthrough - but revealed he first discovered back in the Netherlands just moments before crashing and breaking his hand, which then kept him out of the car for five races.
Meanwhile, the team’s chief race engineer Jonathan Eddolls told Motorsport.com the AlphaTauri car naturally suited Mexico and the Honda power unit was more effective than usual.
But, AlphaTauri’s Mexico pace didn’t appear to be just track-related when the team rocked up for the sprint on Saturday in Brazil.
Both Ricciardo and Tsunoda got into the top ten in the shootout - and then in the sprint itself, Tsunoda picked up three points by placing 6th, notably finishing ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz.
On Sunday in Brazil, Tsunoda was among the points again, finishing 9th. While his race was somewhat unassuming, he likely gained some places due to the misfortunes of others (the race had six retirements).
“We’ve definitely made a big step in the last races since we introduced the upgrades in Austin,” Tsunoda said afterwards.
AlphaTauri now has 21 points in the constructors’ championship - and, interestingly, that leaves them just 7 points behind 7th-placed Williams.
There are only the races in Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi to go this year, but a strong double-points finish in either one could swing the race for 7th in the championship in favour of AlphaTauri.
If Williams doesn’t score any more points, Ricciardo and Tsunoda would only need to finish as high as 7th and 9th to sneak ahead of Williams.