Points were scored for Scuderia AlphaTauri at the 2023 Formula 1 Mexican Grand Prix, courtesy of Daniel Ricciardo.
Scuderia AlphaTauri’s Daniel Ricciardo finished seventh to cap an excellent weekend for the Australian following his qualifying fourth, while Japanese team-mate Yuki Tsunoda ended just outside the points in 12th place ahead of the Brazilian Grand Prix next weekend.
Daniel Ricciardo
There are a lot of emotions, and I’m definitely feeling better than good. Two starts on this track hold your breath because it’s such a long run until Turn 1, and anything can happen. The first start, we went into Turn 1 fourth and came out of it fourth as well, so I was happy. For the second start, I knew the Red Flag would hurt our race, but I’m happy to hear that Kevin (Magnussen) wasn’t injured after the big crash he had. Restarting on the hard compound, with others opting for the medium tyre and only losing one position, was close to the best scenario, and we did well. We tried to settle into our rhythm, where I had a little fight with Norris but then let him go. We thought if he could catch George (Russell), he’d bring him closer to us, and he did. On the last lap, we got close but didn’t quite make it. Regardless, to be fighting with a Mercedes at the end is exciting. Overall, it was a good weekend during which we gained six important points. Now let’s keep the ball rolling.
Yuki Tsunoda
Congratulations to the team and Daniel on the points. The car pace was as good as we expected, so it’s such a shame about the incident with Piastri. I’m happy with my stint on the hard compound, without which I wouldn’t have been P8. It was strong, and it showed the car was good. It’s hard to follow others, so later on, I felt the tyres were starting to struggle, and I wanted to overtake as soon as possible. Huge apologies for the incident that led me to fall to the back of the pack. This track suited our car well, and because of the slow-speed corners in Brazil, I hope we have the same potential and chances. I hope we can fight for the top 10 at the remaining races.
JONATHAN EDDOLLS – Chief Race Engineer
Overall, mixed emotions about the team. Starting with Daniel, he had an absolutely amazing drive this afternoon. He managed the tyres very well and did all we asked of him. The Red Flag didn’t come at the best time for him because all he had left was used tyre sets, but he put up a strong fight until the end. He did all he could to keep the cars behind, and if there would’ve been another lap, he would’ve gotten Russell, who was struggling on the medium tyres. It’s great to see and show that the car’s performance has been there. Obviously, it was more challenging for Yuki, starting towards the back of the grid, but he was making good progress. We had the Safety Car that came midway through the race. We took a bit of a gamble to stay out because we thought there would be a Red Flag, and it happened. Because of the Power Unit penalty, we had a surplus of new tyres, so he was in a perfect position to turn the day around, restarting on the hard compound. Unfortunately, he was a little eager in trying to pass Piastri. We were faster than them and would’ve gotten them by the end of the race, but Oscar and Yuki got together, and Yuki spun off. It’s fantastic for the team and everyone that the car is performing well. The teamwork has been very good this weekend, so it was nice to be rewarded with more points. A little bittersweet with the missed opportunity as well. With today’s result, we’re equal on points with Alfa Romeo, but ahead of them in the championship, and clearly, closing the gap to Williams ahead. The car is looking fast, and the updates are working, so we look ahead to close that gap over the coming races.
Scuderia AlphaTauri Team best pictures:
