AlphaTauri has today revealed their 2021 car – the AT02 – featuring a stunning all-new matte blue and white livery.
Pierre Gasly is set to return to the driver’s seat this season alongside F1 rookie, Yuki Tsunoda for the 2021 season.
This year’s launch was held virtually from AlphaTauri’s new showroom in Salzburg, Austria, and not only gave fans a look at the new car but doubled as a launch of AlphaTauri’s luxury fashion line’s Autumn/Winter 2021 collection.
The team is hoping this year’s set of wheels will help the team to battle it out in the midfield this season with team bosses saying they have full faith in this year’s driver lineup.
Since debuting with the team in 2017, Gasly has earned two F1 podiums – including a spectacular maiden win at Monza in 2020 – meaning his experience with the team will allow him to step-up to a team leader role.
Joining the Frenchman will be 20-year-old Tsunoda, the first Japanese driver to race in F1 since 2014.
His promotion to F1 comes off the back of a fast, four-season trajectory; from winning the 2018 F4 Japanese Championship and finishing third in the 2020 FIA F2 Championship to entering the top-level ranks this year.
Speaking ahead of the season start in Bahrain, Team Principal, Franz Tost said:
“The decision to go for Pierre and Yuki in 2021 was taken because Scuderia AlphaTauri’s philosophy is still to give talented young drivers from the Red Bull Junior Program the opportunity to step up to F1 and to educate them – this is why Yuki now gets his chance.
“With Pierre on Yuki’s side we have an experienced driver, who can help our Japanese rookie to develop faster, but at the same time we can aim for good results.
“I think this pair is the best possible scenario to achieve both our targets, and I’m also confident this will be a successful one.”
“I’m ready to take on the role of team leader. Yuki is a very quick driver, and he will help us move the team forward – we will work together to achieve that,” said Pierre Gasly, the team’s all-time top points scorer.
“I really believe last year was the team’s best in terms of the way it worked, the development, the performance and the way it managed the race weekends.
“I’m always hungry for more, and I’m sure we can achieve great things in 2021.”
Yuki Tsunoda, who was honoured with the Anthoine Hubert Award for best Formula 2 rookie in 2020, added, “I’ve been lucky enough to spend some time with Scuderia AlphaTauri ahead of the season, so I’m already developing strong relationships and learning a lot from them – including Pierre, who is an incredible talent.
“My main goal is to learn quickly and deliver results as soon as possible, and I’m really excited to get started.”
