AlphaTauri hoping to eclipse Alpine F1 and finish P5 with Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda next season

AlphaTauri is reportedly expecting to top the midfield in the 2024 F1 season with Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda under the fresh guidance of Laurent Mekies.

The 2023 season wasn't a fantastic one for AlphaTauri as they remained at the bottom of the championship with Tsunoda and Nyck de Vries. The Hungarian GP marked the return of Ricciardo, replacing De Vries because of his lack of performance. Ricciardo and Tsunoda scored a total of 25 points in the remainder of the season to finish eighth in the championship.

In 2024, with former Ferrari racing director Laurent Mekies replacing Franz Tost as team principal, the team has set higher expectations. As reported by Formu1a.uno, AlphaTauri is aiming to be fifth in the championship this season. It has also been mentioned that the aerodynamic department will move to Milton Keynes later this year.

Technical director Jody Egginton mentioned that the car has "interesting features" that can help it perform well during the races.

"There are cars that don’t get on the podium every weekend, but they have some really interesting features," Formu1a.uno quoted him. "We always look at what other teams are doing. In the end, it’s about putting it all together and understanding it."

The driver lineup will remain unchanged as Yuki Tsunoda marks his fourth consecutive season with the team and Daniel Ricciardo will get a complete season to learn and perform in the car.

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Daniel Ricciardo reveals his preparation ahead of the 2024 F1 season

The Australian had been out of the grid for almost half the season after his contract with McLaren was terminated. He was then signed by Red Bull as their third driver, and he aimed to return to the grid in 2024 as the permanent driver of a stronger team rather than a slower team in 2023.

Despite this aim, AlphaTauri signed him and he will be continuing to drive for the team. Talking about his preparation for the upcoming F1 season, Daniel Ricciardo stated that he has been focused a lot more on racing, cutting away the other activities.

"I’ve definitely cut back on a lot of things, let’s say, outside of racing, for sure," F1 quoted him. "I still have some other interests outside of the sport, which I’m involved in, and I enjoy, but I’ve minimised a lot."

Daniel Ricciardo added that he is focusing on making racing his priority:

"I’m really just trying to, I think, make sure that… I think it always has been, but to obviously make the racing the priority. With the calendar now and the schedule, if I’ve got some time off, then I’m either in the gym or I’m putting my feet up and recovering for the next race."

With AlphaTauri aiming to top the midfield this season, Ricciardo's driving will be an important aspect alongside Tsunoda.