F1 News: AlphaTauri Could Have Some Bad News For Yuki Tsunoda In 2023
Dutch driver Nyck de Vries will be joining the AlphaTauri team next year alongside Yuki Tsunoda, however, team principal Franz Tost is currently not shooting down claims that De Vries could be team leader even though Tsunoda has more F1 experience.
De Vries has been a reserve driver for Mercedes since 2021 and made an impressive Formula 1 debut when he stood in for Alex Albon in the Williams at the Italian Grand Prix this year and ended up coming in ninth bagging himself two points, something that Albon’s teammate Nicholas Latifi had not done by that point. De Vries is also a Formula E champion, he raced with Mercedes since 2019 and won the 2020-2021 championship.
Even though 2023 will be Tsunoda’s third F1 season, questions have been raised as to whether De Vries will take the team leader role with all of his previous racing experience. When Tost was asked if that was a possibility, he said:
“This we’ll see. Yuki has more Formula 1 experience. Nyck is a little bit older, has more race experience. He won many races and championships. The most important part is that we provide the drivers with a competitive car, and then it’s easy for both of them to set up the car and to perform well.
“Who of these two drivers will be the faster? This we will see. I don’t know yet. I’m looking forward because both of the drivers have a lot of potential. Both of the drivers are fast, and I think that we should have a successful season.”
Tost continued and spoke about his growing relationship with the Dutchman. He explained:
“I have had a lot of contact with him. He was in Faenza, they made the seat and I also met him. We always have some chats together. It’s very interesting, very important to know each other, and I want to integrate him into the team as fast as possible.
“He will do the young driver test for us in Abu Dhabi, where he can become more familiar with the car, with the team, and then we will see. We have a good programme for him during the winter months to prepare him in the best possible way for 2023.”
De Vries will be replacing French driver Pierre Gasly who is making the move to Alpine and after his performance in Italy, he will be one to watch.
