Yuki Tsunoda has openly admitted that AlphaTauri’s “consistency is a bit poor”, following a very disappointing start to the 2023 F1 season for the Faenza-based team.
AlphaTauri entered 2023 on the back of a poor 2022 campaign, where they slumped to ninth in the Constructors’ Championship.
There was some hope that the Red Bull sister team would make a step in the right direction this year, especially after Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko revealed that AlphaTauri weren’t performing up to standards.
Speculation also grew prior to the season-opener in Bahrain that Red Bull were even considering selling AlphaTauri; however, Marko quashed any rumours of a potential sale.
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To his credit, Tsunoda has started 2023 well and has come close to points in both Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, after finishing 11th at the opening two races of the season.
He would’ve claimed 10th at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit had he not lost a great late-race scrap with Kevin Magnussen, who got the better of the Japanese driver.
Race pace, therefore, doesn’t appear to be AlphaTauri’s problem, with Tsunoda recognising that the team are currently struggling in qualifying.
“To be honest, we’re not P6 or P7 in the Constructors’ [Championship],” Tsunoda told the F1 Nation podcast.
“We see in qualifying, especially, our consistency is a bit poor. To be honest, it’s maybe P9 or P10, or P8, depending on the track.”
Despite being very honest in regard to the team’s current situation, Tsunoda is confident that the team will make strides forward given how long the season is, with the 22-year-old having revealed that the Italians are set to introduce a “good amount of development” throughout 2023.
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“But I will say we still have 20 more races, we’re planning a good amount of development through the year that we couldn’t even achieve last year, so hopefully we can achieve those places,” said Tsunoda.
“It’s important to develop the car with good updates every time, so we have, in the end, a good car.
“Just have to extract the performance for now, wait for the opportunity to score points, and just keep working hard. If the opportunity comes, just [drive] flat out and score points.”