“Paddock rumour” shared that AlphaTauri could run RB19 next season
The RB19, which has won all 12 races so far this season, is quickly becoming one of the most dominating cars in F1 history under the control of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez.
However, this is in stark contrast to their sister team AlphaTauri, who currently sit bottom of the Constructors’ Standings with just three points - all of which coming from Yuki Tsunoda. Their drivers have battled with their package all season long, which has been far less competitive than that of previous seasons, notably 2020 and 2021.
With rookie Nyck De Vries unable to score a point after 10 races in the AT04, he was replaced by the more experienced Daniel Ricciardo. There have been several reasons suggested behind the mid-season swap, such as the desire to better develop the car under Ricciardo’s expertise, as well as creating a better point of comparison for Tsunoda. It was also argued it could put pressure on Perez at Red Bull, who had been struggling at the time.
Sky Sports commentator David Croft discussed AlphaTauri’s situation going forward on their podcast: “AlphaTauri is the one that interests me. Where do AlphaTauri go from here?
“Yuki Tsunoda is driving okay, he scored all their points this year. Nyck de Vries didn’t work but I would’ve liked to have seen him given a bit more time. I understand the reasons why they explained they got rid of him.
“Daniel Ricciardo has come in as a motivation, not just for Yuki, but for Checo [Perez] as well. And that seems to have worked in the last couple of races too.”
While the current driver lineup at both teams may have improved their respective situations with the arrival of Ricciardo, questions have been asked as to whether he would want to keep that seat in 2024. The Australian reportedly turned down drives at the likes of Haas and Williams after leaving McLaren in 2023, as he didn’t want to drive for a backmarker.
“But does Daniel Ricciardo want to be racing for AlphaTauri next year? Potentially, if the AlphaTauri is a much better car”, suggested Croft. “There are lots of reports that the plan is under whatever name they’re going to be, maybe Toro Rosso once again, that they run this year’s Red Bull next year.
“Which has happened before, Super Aguri ran a year-old Honda for instance. It would definitely work for AlphaTauri, but that’s just the paddock rumour.”
Given the unmatchable pace on display from the Red Bull this season, it’s highly likely that even next year it would stand firm on the grid. As suggested by Croft with Super Aguri, this would be nothing new in F1 - Racing point ran the famous ‘pink Mercedes’ in 2020, which drew incredible resemblance to the championship winning Mercedes W10 of 2019. They narrowly finished 4th in the standings, with a race win to their name to show for it.
It could certainly tempt Ricciardo to another year in the sister team, if he isn’t tempted already. It could also add some much needed pace to their car, giving the likes of Tsunoda a platform to perform.
