F1 | AlphaTauri, Tost: “Gasly potential top driver, Tsunoda surprising”

“The goal is always to improve. However, we know that under normal circumstances we cannot win. In Monza last year, we did have a fast car and a Pierre Gasly who was very good at managing it without making mistakes, but we were helped by the penalty given to Lewis Hamilton. On paper the 2021 car should be a step forward, but only the stopwatch will tell us if this is true - Tost told Rosea - The gap with the other mid-group teams was just a few hundredths, we will have to work hard, not make mistakes and provide the drivers with a reliable car to beat their rivals."

The team principal from Faenza then spoke about the two standard bearers, explaining how Gasly is now a pillar of the team and how well the Japanese Tsunoda, making his debut in the top category, can do.

“Pierre was right to stay with us: he loves the team and we love him. If he shows the same performance as in 2020, he will have a chance to go to Red Bull or another competitive team. He has everything to become a successful driver - Tost continued - As for Tsunoda, we started working well in advance. In November he was in Imola with an old F.1. So the youth test in Abu Dhabi, this year again in Imola, in Misano and within a couple of weeks it will be back at Santerno. The target is to arrive in Bahrain with 3.500-4.000 km behind us. The key element for a rookie is how quickly and well he knows how to “transmit” the engineers' information to the car. And Yuki is doing a fantastic job, I think after a couple of races he will already be very competitive. He understands technique and is good at battling on the track. Already in F.2 he has made excellent overtaking".

The team principal also commented that unfortunate “Tost who?” uttered by Lewis Hamilton: “I started laughing. I don't care if Lewis knows me or not. He is interested in the fact that there is now a commission that discusses the salary cap for pilots."