AlphaTauri are set to bring several upgrades to the French Grand Prix as they bid to bounce back from what Pierre Gasly described as a "disaster" weekend in Austria. Gasly and teammate Yuki Tsunoda ended the Red Bull Ring race down in 15th and 16th places respectively, meaning AlphaTauri have now failed to score points in the last three Grands Prix. It also means the team have dropped to eighth in the Constructors' Championship, with Haas leapfrogging them last time out. However, developments are due to arrive on both AlphaTauri cars at the Circuit Paul Ricard, leaving Gasly and Tsunoda hopeful that they can work their way back into the midfield fight and challenge for points again.
Gasly targets "real step up" with French GP parts
Gasly, who will have his own grandstand on home soil, hopes to give the fans something to cheer about. "Austria turned out to be a weekend to forget, so I am particularly keen to go racing again at Ricard," he said. "I'm hoping things will get much better with the updates we will have on the car this weekend. "They are mainly on the aero-side and they should deliver a real step up in performance, so I'm keen to try them out at Ricard, in the hope that they can put us back in the fight for points. "It's a special weekend as it's my home race, particularly this year as there is some uncertainty over the future of the French Grand Prix. "We are not sure if it stays on the calendar or not for next year, so I want to enjoy the moment and share it with all my fans, supporters and French F1 racing enthusiasts."
Tsunoda, having recently been warned by team boss Franz Tost after a clash with Gasly at Silverstone, is also eyeing a significant step forward. "Austria was one of the most difficult race weekends of the season so far and probably the Sprint format made it even worse," added Tsunoda. "It's a track where you need a set-up that works well in mid-speed corners and it can be quite tricky because you have the high-speed straight and Signes corner, but also low- and medium-speed turns at the end of sectors 1 and 3. "Normally, this would highlight some weak points in our car, but we will have updates in France, so hopefully that won't be the case anymore. "We've gone for a major upgrade rather than lots of small ones. The new upgrade is focused on adding more load to the car, as we were quite weak in the medium- to high-speed corners. "Hopefully, it will bring us more consistency and allow us to fight at the top of the midfield again."
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