Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner has expressed his appreciation for AlphaTauri’s impressive performance, especially since Daniel Ricciardo’s return to the team. Horner shared his thoughts in an interview with Sky Sports F1, commenting: “It’s great to see.”
AlphaTauri, formerly known as Toro Rosso, initially had a challenging season with only two points achieved. However, since Ricciardo’s arrival, with the help of his replacement Liam Lawson and teammate Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull’s sister team has undergone a remarkable transformation, with the Italian team adding a further seventeen points to their tally.
The growth of AlphaTauri
Horner noted that AlphaTauri faced some difficulties at the start of the season, but the team has managed to make some upgrades. “They’ve made a number of upgrades and I think from Singapore onwards they’ve really brought their car to life,” the team boss emphasized. “I think Daniel has also brought some good technical direction to it and you can see they are benefiting from that,” he adds.
Ricciardo was the replacement for Nyck de Vries, who lost his seat with the AlphaTauri team halfway through the season. After replacing the Dutchman, Ricciardo was absent from the AlphaTauri team for some time after breaking his hand during free practice in Zandvoort. The Australian was replaced by Lawson at that time, and he managed to score two points for the team.
The positive changes at AlphaTauri were further underlined by Tsunoda’s strong performance during the race in Brazil. Horner praised Tsunoda’s performance, saying: “Yuki rode a strong race, and it’s good to see him scoring valuable points.”
Rumors surrounding Ricciardo
These developments within AlphaTauri also raise questions about Ricciardo’s future in Formula 1. There are rumors that he could become Max Verstappen’s new teammate at Red Bull, replacing Sergio Pérez. Ricciardo’s strong performances since his return have added to these speculations and could point to a reunion of the two former teammates.
