Tost sees a strong AlphaTauri: I expect we'll have quite a competitive car'

Nyck de Vries will start his first full-time season in Formula 1 next month. On the day AlphaTauri launched their 2023 F1 car, team boss Franz Tost reveals that he is fully confident in the rookie and even labels him as one of the best drivers in a certain department. 

At 28 years old with a Formula E World Championship in the bag and a Grand Prix under his belt, De Vries could be classed as the most experienced rookie in Formula 1 history. To add to that, he spent time with at least 50% of the F1 teams in 2022 including Mercedes. It is therefore not surprising to hear that Tost expects that he will bring plenty of knowledge to the team. 

Technical driver

"Nyck is technically very highly-skilled and focused. When driving our car at the Abu Dhabi Young Driver test at the end of last season, he already gave the engineers good technical feedback. I think that he will immediately understand the new car. He will get familiar with it quickly and his feedback will be useful because he understands the technical challenges that Formula 1 cars present. I believe he is one of the most adept drivers in terms of technical understanding of the car," Tost said after the launch of the AT04. 

"Nyck De Vries has driven in only one Formula 1 race, last year in Monza, where he produced a fantastic performance. Nevertheless, he has a great deal of racing experience, winning races and championships in many of the categories that he took part in. Therefore, I’m quite sure that he will be able to deliver good results soon in the season then to be finishing in the points in the races."

Tost also focused on the other side of the garage. Yuki Tsunoda will race in his third season of Formula 1. With former team leader Pierre Gasly moving on, it will be interesting to see how the Japanese driver develops in 2023. Tost has a clear goal in mind and he sets the bar high.

"This year, as I expect we will have quite a competitive car, Yuki must always aim to be in Qualifying 3 and finish the races in the points. He has to score many more points than he did last year," Tost added. 

The car will be seen in full during the winter tests at the end of February. Nyck de Vries and Yuki Tsunoda will drive the car in the first race of the 2023 season one week later on the 5th of March.