The altitude in Mexico City demands a special set-up from the teams, and that’s where AlphaTauri seems to have found a good trick for years
Pierre Gasly believes he knows why his former team AlphaTauri was the big sensation of qualifying for the 2023 Mexican Grand Prix, with 4th place for Daniel Ricciardo, and has told his current team Alpine what his new employer may be lacking in comparison
While Ricciardo qualified fourth, Gasly is only 11th on the grid on Sunday, while teammate Esteban Ocon struggled even more, failing to get past 16th in Q1 before gaining a place through a grid penalty for Yuki Tsunoda.
Gasly, who raced five times for Toro Rosso and AlphaTauri respectively in Mexico City between 2017 and 2022 and even finished fourth two years ago, suggests the Faenza-based team has a very special approach to the track that gives him an advantage over his rivals.
The data suggests that while the AlphaTauri is weaker on the straights compared to its rivals, it is particularly strong in the corners.
“I’m just disappointed with the overall performance of the car because we’re just not performing compared to all the guys we normally battle with,” Gasly said. “I have my ideas about why we’re not competitive and why AlphaTauri is competitive, for example. “
Gasly: What does he mean by his implication?
When asked specifically what he meant, Gasly replied, “I don’t want to comment on that. But there are some obvious things and things that I’ve already told the guys that cost us in Sector 1. I mean, they are things that you can see even in the onboard. Just look at it yourself and you’ll know what I mean.”
When asked what his former driver meant by that, AlphaTauri chief engineer Jonathan Eddolls confirms that the team has a particular focus on the Mexico track. “We always look at the characteristics of the track,” Eddolls says. “We do that every week, at every event.”
“But there are certain events where we come to with, let’s say, a slightly different base set-up than usual. Like in Monaco, Singapore or especially in Baku. And here the car seems to be very good mechanically over the years, I think. Everyone struggles with grip, and when you have a mechanically good car, that helps. “
“And as I said, with our aerodynamic package here, we don’t quite have the efficiency of some others. But we have the downforce we need in the corners. That suits this event, but yeah, we’re coming here with some of those somewhat flashy things. Just different things on the mechanical side, really, mainly on the mechanical side. “
AlphaTauri: Advantage of Honda engine?
Eddolls also acknowledges that the Honda power unit is very effective in Mexico. “I think the Honda engine seems to be very strong, even at altitude,” he says. “I’m sure all teams would lose some power if we were to race at sea level on this track, but with Honda it’s rather small numbers.”
“I can’t speak for others. But we know the Honda engine is strong and rides well. And I think it handles these altitudes well.”
Eddolls is further confident that Ricciardo can put in a strong performance in the race. “The good thing is that we have a car that is very fast in the corners,” he says. “So the hope is that that will keep the tires alive.”
“People talk about there being between one and two stops here. If you can save the tires and manage the one stop well, then I think we’re in a good place compared to Verstappen and Leclerc when we look at the qualifying lap. The only place he lost time was in turn 1, and from there on he was almost as fast as the other two. “
