AlphaTauri will adjust its approach to signing drivers from 2024 and beyond, according to team CEO Peter Bayer.
The 2023 season was very hectic for AlphaTauri, who provided plenty of headlines for their off-track shenanigans. Amidst the four drivers who competed for the team, Yuki Tsunoda was the only constant.
And it was the Japanese driver who delivered most of the team’s points, earning a contract extension in September. However, the absence of injuries should allow Daniel Ricciardo to gather momentum and show more representative performances.
More broadly speaking, AlphaTauri is a team with reasons to be optimistic for 2024. The season finale in Abu Dhabi saw the AT04 compete with Aston Martin and Mercedes for points – before Tsunoda finished in an impressive P8.
After introducing a new floor at the final round (to help with preparations for next year’s concept), the potential of the Faenza-based team is clearly growing.
However, there have been some questions about the exclusion of Liam Lawson from their 2024 selection. The Kiwi driver was highly impressive in his appearances last year, even securing points in the chaos of the Singapore GP.
In a recent interview, AlphaTauri’s CEO Peter Bayer revealed the team will be relying more on experience:
“We’ll still try to fulfil one of our other strategic directives, which is to fulfil the junior development program. But we’ll do it slightly differently,” he told racingnews365.
“We will not race with two juniors. We will always have one experienced driver who will take one young driver under his wing and help him to develop.”
This sentiment isn’t new, with the AlphaTauri executive singing the praises of Daniel Ricciardo and his experience earlier in the season.
Ultimately, the last few seasons have shown the potential volatility of the Red Bull junior programme. Moving forward, a less disruptive balance will be pursued by both parties.
