With their “rookie” season behind them, Scuderia AlphaTauri looks to build on their maiden season, a season that included a win by driver Pierre Gasly.
This week, Scuderia AlphaTauri showed off their colors for the 2021 Formula 1 season as returning driver Pierre Gasly and new to the team driver Yuki Tsunoda unveiled the team’s new look with the livery for their AT02 racecars.
The launch was held at AlphaTauri’s, a premium clothing brand, new showroom in Salzburg, Austria and presented digitally. This also was the first time that drivers Pierre Gasly of France and Yuki Tsunoda of Japan have appeared together as teammates.
New outfit colors and new livery and new team roles. Gasly clearly is the the team leader. At 25 years of age, Gasly has been with the team since 2017 under its former name, Scuderia Toro Rosso, and has earned two F1 podiums. During the 2020 campaign, Gasly’s maiden win at Monza was a defining moment for him and the team under its new name.
“I’m ready to take on the role of team leader. Yuki is a very quick driver, and he will help us move the team forward – we will work together to achieve that,” said Gasly, via a press release. “I really believe last year was the team’s best in terms of the way it worked, the development, the performance and the way it managed the race weekends. I’m always hungry for more, and I’m sure we can achieve great things in 2021.”
Tsunoda, 20, is the first Japanese driver to race in F1 since 2014, his promotion coming off the back of a fast, four-season trajectory from winning the 2018 F4 Japanese Championship and finishing third in the 2020 FIA F2 Championship to entering the top-level ranks this year. Expectations are high for his rapid style of learning to complement the experience of Gasly.
The AT02 seen during the Suderia AlphaTauri AT02 Livery Reveal 2021 – Fashion meets Formula 1 in Salzburg, Austria on February 15, 2021.[EDITORâS NOTE – Item/s removed in post-processing. Original photograph available upon request. // Joerg Mitter / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202102180138 // Usage for editorial use only // 
The AT02 seen during the Suderia AlphaTauri AT02 Livery Reveal 2021 – Fashion meets Formula 1 in Salzburg, Austria on February 15, 2021. // Joerg Mitter / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202102180226 // Usage for editorial use only // 
Yuki Tsunoda of Japan and Pierre Gasly of France seen during the Suderia AlphaTauri AT02 Livery Reveal 2021 – Fashion meets Formula 1 in Salzburg, Austria on February 15, 2021. // Joerg Mitter / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202102180169 // Usage for editorial use only // 
Yuki Tsunoda of Japan and Pierre Gasly of France seen during the Suderia AlphaTauri AT02 Livery Reveal 2021 – Fashion meets Formula 1 in Salzburg, Austria on February 15, 2021. // Joerg Mitter / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202102180134 // Usage for editorial use only //
“The decision to go for Pierre and Yuki in 2021 was taken because Scuderia AlphaTauri’s philosophy is still to give talented young drivers from the Red Bull Junior Program the opportunity to step up to F1 and to educate them – this is why Yuki now gets his chance,” explained Team Principal Franz Tost via press release. “With Pierre on Yuki’s side we have an experienced driver, who can help our Japanese rookie to develop faster, but at the same time we can aim for good results. I think this pair is the best possible scenario to achieve both our targets, and I’m also confident this will be a successful one.”
