All Eyes on AlphaTauri
Posted on July 19, 2023
Daniel’s Raring to Go around Stunning Bucharest
Jordan’s Maiden Sprint Win
SHOULD DANIEL RICCIARDO finish anywhere in the points at the Hungaroring on Sunday, after his decision to plunge back head-first into Formula One, he will have done AlphaTauri proud.
And never forget, Daniel has won in Hungary – for Red Bull – way back in 2014. Although he’s well aware AlphaTauri is no RB19.
“The car will be what it is,” he said this week, in an interview with F1’s Lawrence Barretto. “I’m going to drive it and work from there. I don’t want … preconceived ideas.”
The unfortunate Dutchman Nyck De Vries – who the Aussie surprisingly replaced – failed to register a point on the 2023 F1 scoreboard. Daniel’s new teammate, diminutive Yuki Tsunoda, so far has notched two points following successive impressive 10th place finishes in April – Australia and Azerbaijan.
The young Japanese star is a feisty character who knows when to extend his elbows – a trait that has caused him some grief.
But Yuki has a golden opportunity to learn from one of F1’s best.
Daniel determined to develop his #3 AlphaTauri
“I appreciate the car’s going to have its limitations,” he told F1’s Lawrence Barretto this week.
“I’m sure they’re probably just lacking some overall downforce and things like this, but I think if it’s a car that feels balanced – it might not have as much grip as the Red Bull I drove a few days ago – that’s something I can work with.
“I’m looking forward to also developing it and using my experience, and ultimately, I think, for Budapest, just go out and have fun, try and use more right foot than left and have a good time!
“I know the team… It’s been tough to get a points finish this year, a top 10, so to push this car and try to get it inside the top 10, I think that would get everyone pretty fulfilled and excited.”
Daniel (left) with AlphaTauri team boss Franz Tost.\
Six months out and raring to go
Basically, Daniel’s just raring to go and ready to “have fun” after securing his extraordinary F1 comeback drive with cellar-dweller AlphaTauri.
But he knows you’ve ‘gotta be in it to win it!
The 34-year-old Australian made his F1 debut with Hispania Racing midway through the 2011 campaign, before progressing to Toro Rosso (now AlphaTauri) and then Red Bull, where he claimed seven of his eight Grand Prix wins.
He stayed ready to ensure he could fully embrace any opportunity to return to the grid, admitting it was always in the back of his mind given the “unpredictable” nature of F1.
When the call came from Red Bull’s Helmut Marko “I was like, ‘OK, let’s just hear what he has to say, Let’s just hear him out and see what happens’.
‘Like the old me, normal Daniel!’
“Getting back to Red Bull and just kind of the reception I had walking back into that team was … in a positive way, a little bit overwhelming,
“Then getting back on the sim, I was still a bit unsure how it was going to go, if the car would feel like it used to, if I was going to be, for the lack of better words, like the old me.
“Once I’d done a few sim sessions and started feeling like myself again, it then just kind of brought me back to normal Daniel, where I was falling back in love and ready to go again.”
And what’s possible with AlphaTauri.
While there a no guarantees, Daniel knows “delivering” with AlphaTauri is his best chance of a route back to Red Bull in the future – though he is focused on the here and now.
And he knows all about long odds.
“That’s why it feels a bit like back when I was working my way up through it, in the Red Bull family. That was it, ‘If you get results, we’ll keep pushing you, we’ll keep pushing you’. That’s really like the mindset.”
Traction One of the Key Factors
“The Hungarian Grand Prix has become a classic event of the Formula 1 summer season, and as such the air and asphalt temperatures, which are usually very high, are the main features.
“This puts the drivers, cars and tyres to the test, not least because the twisting nature of the track does not allow anyone or anything to catch their breath.
“There’s a fairly long pit straight, which provides the only real overtaking opportunity under braking into the first right-hand corner.
“With so many slow corners, traction is one of the key factors for good performance and the biggest risk is tyre overheating.
“Despite being a permanent track, the Hungaroring is not used very often and the asphalt conditions improve considerably during the weekend as the ideal racing line rubbers in.”
Mario Isola, Pirelli Motorsport Director.
Budapest, Hungary
• Hungary often features high ambient and track temperatures, and this weekend is no exception. Although the chance of rain on Friday should add spice to the sugar!
With the race taking place approaching the height of the European summer – and the circuit located in a natural bowl with little airflow – Budapest is a challenge for thermal management of the tyres, as well as driver fatigue.
Usually, this race is all about strategy and tyre degradation. This year Pirelli has opted for a trio of softer compounds – the C3 P Zero White hard, C4 Yellow medium and C5 soft,
Meanwhile a new tyre allocation for qualifying (known as ATA, or ‘Alternative Tyre Allocation’) will be tried out for the first time, with the obligation to use just the hard in Q1, medium in Q2 and soft in Q3 if conditions stay dry.
Both these changes, at least on paper according to Mario Isola, should lead to a wider range of options, particularly in terms of strategy.
The ATA also saves two sets of dry tyres compared to the traditional format (using 11 sets instead of 13).
The ATA rules will be trialed again during the first weekend in September at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza.
After that the FIA, F1 and the teams will decide whether or not to adopt it for next season.
Aussie Still in with a Chance
Jack Doohan made some headway at Silverstone with a hard-fought third in the F2 Sprint to move up seventh and 72 points.
He’s given himself some hope for the crucial Formula 2 title, with just four rounds remaining after this weekend.
Denmark’s Frederick Vesti leads the standings on 139, with Frenchman Théo Pourchaire and Japan’s Ayuma Iwasa tight on his hammer.
For the round at Budapest, Pirelli provides the teams with the P Zero Yellow medium and P Zero Red soft compounds.
In Formula 3 Christian Mansell sits 14th on the ladder, the best of the three Aussies in the FIA series this season, ahead of Hugh Barter and Tommy Smith.
Brazil’s Gabriel Bortoleto (Trident) still leads the standings on 136 points, ahead of Spain’s Josep Maria Martì (Campos Racing) while Italy’s Gabriele Minì (Hitech Pulse-Eight) and the Estonian Paul Aron (Prema Racing) are equal third on 77, 51 behind the leader.
GT World Challenge Europe
Valentino Rossi took his first win in the GT World Challenge Europe, a championship supplied exclusively by Pirelli.
The nine-time motorcycle World Champion and team-mate Maxime Martin took first place in Race 2 at Misano, Italy, at the wheel of a WRT BMW M4 GT3 fitted with Pirelli P Zero DHF tyres.
Race 1 was won by Raffaele Marciello and Timur Boguslavskiy in an Akkodis ASP Mercedes AMG GT3.
Maiden Sprint Cup Win
Mercedes-AMG Junior Driver Jordan Love took his first victory in the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup as he claimed Silver Cup victory after starting from pole position in race one at Italy’s Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli.
Lining up in the #77 Haupt Racing Team Mercedes-AMG GT3 alongside Brit Frank Bird, the team got off to a strong start finishing the first two practice sessions inside the top-three.
With a strong foundation to work from, Jordan was elected to qualify for the team for Saturday’s race one and he scored his first pole position in the series – starting at the front of the Silver Cup field and 14th overall.
In a dominant race one performance from Jordan and Frank, the pair took Silver Cup victory by almost twenty seconds as they led from pole to finish class winners – and 12th overall.
Contact and damage early on Sunday made the pair’s race extremely difficult, but they persevered to finish 4th in the Silver Cup and 15th overall.
Jordan and Frank now sit second in the Silver Cup Drivers’ Championship with 46.5 points, closing the gap in the title fight to just three points.
“Pole position to race win!
“Really happy to get my first Class pole position and victory in the series.
“We know there are still a few bits to improve and I’m really looking forward to going again at Hockenheim.”
Jordan Love (pictured right), with Frank Bird.
Jordan returns to the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup action when the championship resumes for round three at Hockenheim, Germany September 2-3.
EDITED by AC
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