'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
AlphaTauri's Yuki Tsunoda admitted that he was surprised by the extent of the issues faced by the team this season. In the Saudi Arabian GP, the Japanese driver could not complete even a single competitive lap in either qualifying or the race as he suffered from issues with his drivetrain.
Earlier, the Faenza-based squad suffered from power unit issues in the first race in Bahrain when Pierre Gasly, who was on his way to scoring points, had to retire due to reliability issues.
Speaking to the media after the race, Tsunoda said:
“I’m so surprised. Last year, we didn’t have any reliability issues like this. Especially the engine, we were 100 percent trusting. Even if we had [some issues last year], it was only one or two races. Now, it’s two races in a row.”
After the culmination of the second race of the season, every driver of both the senior Red Bull team and AlphaTauri has now had to retire from a race due to power unit struggles.
Both Red Bull boss Christian Horner and AlphaTauri boss Franz Tost admitted there was concern within the team about reliability. Tost even highlighted that he needed to understand the reason behind only his team encountering these issues in the Saudi Arabian GP while the Red Bull cars ran rather reliably.
AlphaTauri finds itself sixth in the championship standings
The first two races of the season have featured either of the two AlphaTauri drivers retiring from the race. At the same time, however, the other driver has been able to salvage some points for the team.
The team currently finds itself sixth in the standings with eight points to its name, four each for Gasly and Tsunoda. The car seems well-balanced and is capable enough to fight in the midfield. One of the bigger issues that it faces right now, however, is reliability.
This is proving to be one of the bigger deterrents for the team as it lost points with Gasly in the Bahrain GP and did not even provide Tsunoda with an opportunity to race in the Saudi Arabian GP.
