It is no secret to say that AlphaTauri is like the subsidiary team of Red Bull, in fact, on many occasions they have been criticized for adopting experiments that they have previously tried in Milton Keynes with positive results on track.
Problems with the RBPTH001 power units fitted to the AT03s and RB18s are a case in point, with Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda forced to resort to their second engine of the season in just two races.
However, the Faenza team arrived at the Saudi GP with an experiment that went largely unnoticed. The technicians led by Jody Eggington opted for a solution that was the focus of the controversy in the pre-season tests in Sakhir, “copying” the already famous rear-view mirror supports of the Mercedes W13.
Three small flow diverters with different shapes have appeared on Gasly and Tsunoda ‘s car, and only one of these three flaps acts as a direct attachment to the side rear view mirror: the white arrow (in the image above) indicates the modification that has been made. introduced in the AT03 .
The uncompetitive W13 , which to date has turned out to be the wrong concept car, did not escape controversy in pre-season testing due to this very solution that AlphaTauri has now adopted, however the FIA considered that the team’s interpretation de Brackley was “within the spirit of the rules” so it shouldn’t surprise us if we see a few more teams implement similar solutions in future races.
In this way, AlphaTauri have had the opportunity to measure the benefit of having the micro-aerodynamic solution that Mercedes has been using a bit as a decoy. Without a doubt, if this solution is really beneficial, it would not be ruled out to see it implemented in the Red Bull RB18 in the coming weeks.
Gallery: Gasly and Tsunoda’s AlphaTauri at the 2022 F1 Saudi Arabian GP
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images
Foto de: LAT Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
