De Vries on updates from Alpha Tauri: 'Hope to close gap with top 10'
F1 News
- GPblog.com
It has been a disappointing season for AlphaTauri so far. The Italian racing stable was hoping to consistently fight for the points, but finds itself in the rear. According to Nyck de Vries, fans need not expect any major updates in Baku, he said to Motorsport.com.
Team boss Franz Tost has regularly stated he is not happy with his team's progress. For instance, AlphaTauri's aerodynamics team has come under scrutiny and intensified its cooperation with big brother Red Bull. The team is working hard to improve the car, says De Vries: "I think that all the little things we are constantly bringing - it's not like there is a game-changer, you're not going from P15 to P8 - all the little details are making a difference. Then you find yourself hopefully close to the top 10."
In Australia, the Italians already brought a new floor for their AT04. "I think it helped us a little bit, being a little bit more competitive. It's so tight in the midfield, a little difference, it can swing so quickly" the Dutchman sounds hopeful.
'New floor for AlphaTauri'
Yuki Tsunoda damaged his new floor already in the first free practice, leaving only the man from Friesland with the aerodynamic advantage during the race. "We will have a bit of time now to try and learn what we've brought and hopefully we can use that to our advantage going forward in bringing new updates and putting more development on the car" De Vries concluded.