AlphaTauri "separated from some employees" as Red Bull co-operation intensifies this season
AlphaTauri team principal Franz Tost has said that the team have separated from a few employees and that the association with Red Bull has increased.
AlphaTauri have been struggling in the last two seasons, and much has been said about Red Bull's top brass looking to sell the team. However, with selling the team not an option at the moment, it appears that an effort is being made to get AlphaTauri back on track.
To facilitate that, according to Tost, the collaboration between the German team and AlphaTauri has increased, and a few of the underperforming members were let go by AlphaTauri. Tost told Sport1.de:
“The aero department was reorganised. We have separated from some employees, and I am now expecting an increase in performance from the new people. I don’t want to name any names just yet, just this much – the responsibility is now divided between three people because we can’t just poach capable people from Red Bull Racing like Aston Martin did. Their newcomers were able to develop the new car at an early stage. We see the result now."
He added:
"But the same applies to us: the co-operation with Red Bull is now being intensified. However, the regulations are very precise. You can’t just copy parts. We should only accept Red Bull parts that are officially allowed, but they are not relevant to performance. We have to develop the rest ourselves. The FIA takes a close look at that.”
Making better use of Red Bull wind tunnel part of recovery plan - AlphaTauri team principal
Talking about the steps that are being taken by AlphaTauri to make progress, Tost said that better use of the wind tunnel in Milton Keynes is part of the agenda.
He said that making Q3 and fighting for points are key, but the team have a lot of work to do to achieve that:
“Our goal was to get into Q3 in qualifying and drive for points. So far, this has not been successful. The car is too slow. The problem is the aerodynamics. We lack speed, especially on the straights. We must now find ways to get out of the dilemma."
He added:
"We’re on the right track there. This also includes making better use of the Red Bull wind tunnel in England. I was in Milton Keynes last week for that. We have identified the weak points of the car, and now we have to produce new parts as quickly as possible.”
The team scored their first points in Australia with Yuki Tsunoda, but it's fair to say that points were off the table before the red flag restart. AlphaTauri will look to get on a better run of form in the coming races.