A picture of AlphaTauri’s 2022 Formula 1 car has been leaked online, seemingly by an employee of the Italian team.
The AT03 will be unveiled to the world on 14 February in an official live stream that will feature drivers Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda, in addition to team principal Franz Tost.
In the leaked picture – which was shared on Reddit but appears to be a screenshot of an AlphaTauri employee’s Instagram story – what appears to be the team’s 2022 car is visible, though its wheels and floor are missing.
The car has a blue and white livery relatively similar to the one they sported in 2021, and “HRC” – short for Honda Racing Corporation – is written on the engine cover.
Scuderia AlphaTauri, in addition to sister team Red Bull, will continue to be powered by Honda engines in 2022 after the Japanese car-maker backpedalled on its decision to quit Formula 1 at the end of 2021.
The Faenza-based team finished sixth in last year’s Constructors’ Championship, with Gasly having an ultra-impressive season, while Tsunoda got settled into the team in his debut season in the pinnacle of motorsport.
Speaking at the end of last year, Tost cautioned that 2022 will be a “very unknown story” due to the new technical regulations that are being introduced.
“It is more of a very unknown story, because it’s completely new everything,” he said.
“We don’t have any comparisons with others. I trust our engineers because they have built two put cars. The [2020] AT01 was already a good car last year, and the 2021 car was a next step forward.
“Why they shouldn’t be able to make AT03, even if it’s a completely new car, also very competitive?
“But you know, there are, from the technological side, there are also different philosophies. I just hope that we go in the right direction.
“Where we then really end up, I don’t know. But I trust our team, the aero group is doing a very good job and that they are going in the right direction.”