Scuderia AlphaTauri’s Chief Engineer of Vehicle Performance, Claudio Balestri, reflected on a difficult race around the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City, as Pierre Gasly just finished outside the points in eleventh place and team-mate Yuki Tsunoda did not finish, after being hit by McLaren F1 Team’s Daniel Ricciardo in the latter stages of the Grand Prix.
Both AlphaTauri drivers started in the back half of the grid after being knocked out in the second round of qualifying on Saturday. With the possibility of a points finish up for grabs, it was everything to play for.
Gasly made it a challenge for himself to score some points for the team after receiving a five-second time penalty, due to forcing Lance Stroll off the circuit at Turn Four and failing to give the position back to the Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team driver. This now means that the Frenchman has ten penalty points and is only two away from becoming the first driver in Formula 1 to be given a race ban, after being awarded a single point for the infringement.
Gasly served his five-second time penalty in the pits and after having a messy race, was in contention for a points finish; however, he missed out on the final points place to Valtteri Bottas and finished in eleventh.
Tsunoda, on the other hand, was having a great race and was set to score some points but, towards the end of the Grand Prix, the Japanese driver was hit into by Ricciardo at Turn Six, and was forced to retire by the team due to sustaining substantial damage to his right sidepod.
Overall, it was a disappointing day for the team which saw them score no points, keeping them in ninth place in the Constructors’ Championship.
“As our two cars were close together on the grid today, we decided to start with different compounds, with the target of maximising the possibility to score points. Yuki started on new Softs and was immediately able to gain some positions in the first lap, he was P11 between the two McLarens who were both on Mediums, with Norris in front and Riccardo behind,” explained Balestri.
“Yuki’s first stint was good, he was able to produce consistent lap times, manage tyre and brake temperatures, and the tyres were working properly for the entire stint. For the rest of his race, he continued to fight the two McLarens, so in the second stint we decided to fit Mediums and the pace was again good, allowing him to follow Norris and stay in front of Ricciardo.
“However, Ricciardo tried to overtake Yuki, which destroyed our car and our race. The contact left Yuk’s car with a lot of damage, and we had to retire. Pierre’s race was a bit different. By the end of lap one he had lost some positions and was P17, racing on the Mediums, behind the two Astons that were slower than him. During the first stint, Pierre was able to gain one position, overtaking Stroll, who was on the same compound, but during this manoeuvre he got a five second penalty.
“This was served at our second pit stop and our race became a bit more complicated. When he rejoined the track he was behind Albon. Pierre’s pace with the soft compound was good and we were able to overtake him and close the gap with the cars in front, who were on different strategies. Pierre finished just behind Bottas, just outside the points in P11. It is a shame, because the pace wasn’t bad today. Now we need to switch our thoughts to the preparation for our next race in Brazil.”