26/01/2022
NEWS STORY
AlphaTauri hopes to melt some F1 hearts as it announces St Valentine's Day launch.
The Red Bull-owned, Faenza-based outfit will take the wraps off its 2022 contender on Monday 14 February.
Finishing 6th in the 2021 team standings, fifth would have been possible had rookie Yuki Tsunoda lived up to the pre-season hype.
Though he began (and ended) the season in style, for much of the year he left his team exasperated, and one has to wonder if Franz Tost would have been quite so forgiving if the youngster hadn't had the support of Honda.
Clearly believing some of the hype, in no time at all Tsunoda was effing and blinding with the best of them, criticising other drivers and even his team. All somewhat ironic when one considers the scrapes the youngster was getting himself into.
Of course, he was paired with a far more experienced teammate, Pierre Gasly, who, for once, appeared to be on top of his game. Regularly matching the likes of the Ferraris, Perez and Norris in qualifying, the Frenchman had a solid season which could have been even better but for retirement in the Styrian, Italian and United States Grands Prix.
Powered by the same Honda engines that took Verstappen to the title, perhaps more was expected of the team, but in a midfield as tight as it was, and with a rookie in the line-up, perhaps sixth was the best that could be expected.
However, the Faenza-based outfit, which today becomes the fifth team to announce its launch date, will be expecting more in 2022.