AlphaTauri’s Jody Egginton: “Today has been very productive for both sides of the garage”

Jody Egginton says it has been a productive Saturday for Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda at the Red Bull Ring, and they were pleased to see both Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda advance into Q3 in Qualifying.

Gasly will start the Styrian Grand Prix from sixth on the grid, while Tsunoda qualified eighth but will start eleventh after being given a three-place grid penalty for impeding Valtteri Bottas during Q2.

Egginton, the Technical Director at AlphaTauri, says it is a shame that Tsunoda took the penalty, but despite this, he knows points are scored on Sunday and they are in a good position with both cars to take top ten finishes.

“Today has been very productive for both sides of the garage,” said Egginton.  “The package is continuing to work well and respond to the set-up changes made to try and squeeze a bit more performance out of it in what is a very tight midfield.

“Pierre and his crew have done a good job to recover from the running they missed yesterday, this has culminated in a strong Qualifying performance and a well-deserved grid position for tomorrow’s race.

“Yuki and his side of the garage have shown good pace today as well, working through their FP3 programme and then putting it all together to deliver a solid Qualifying performance. It’s a pity that he has received a penalty, but the points are scored tomorrow and, with the weather forecast currently predicting a reasonable chance of rain, we must stay focused on the preparations for the race.”

Egginton says it is important AlphaTauri put themselves in a position to score points with both drivers on Sunday, particularly with how close the Constructors’ Championship battle is likely to be throughout 2021.

“We must give ourselves the best opportunity to deliver on the potential shown so far and also demonstrate the hard work everybody has put in both trackside and back in Faenza & Bicester,” said Egginton.

“The target is simple, we need to be scoring points with both cars to give ourselves the best chance of consolidating our Championship position in what is a very competitive midfield.”