Brake problems AlphaTauri over? 'We now know how to make them work better'

F1 News

Brake problems AlphaTauri as Tsunoda preview Austrian Grand Prix
28 June at 12:36
Last update 28 June at 12:56
  • Olly Darcy
  • Editor

AlphaTauri dropped to last place in the constructors' championship. The only two points secured by the Italian team have come via Yuki Tsunoda. The Japanese driver is hoping to grab more points at the Red Bull Ring, the home of Red Bull Racing. He has two chances to do so, as in addition to the Grand Prix on Sunday, there is the second Sprint of the season a day earlier.

With Tsunoda wanting to collect more World Championship points, AlphaTauri must have the set-up correct at the beginning of the weekend. With this weekend's schedule, after just one free practice session, qualifying for the Grand Prix will be upon them. "Now we come to Spielberg, the Red Bull Ring, which is a track I like, and I scored points there two years ago in my first Formula 1 season," Tsunoda said in a preview from his team.

Extra focus on brakes

"Our focus for Austria must be to have a good car straightaway from FP1, as we have qualifying immediately after that on Friday. You have to be spot-on going into qualifying or you struggle for the rest of the weekend."

Tsunoda has spent a lot of time in the simulator over the past few days. "We tested a lot of things, so the plan is to nail the setup in FP1 and build up confidence straight away. The track layout is tough on brakes, but the team has put a lot of effort into solving issues we’ve had with this in some races, and we now know how to help them work better. There are really only four hard braking points, and I’m sure we’ll be better in this area than in past races."