Tsunoda: AlphaTauri staff feared for their future

AlphaTauri staff feared for their jobs amid rumours of the team's sale earlier this year according to Yuki Tsunoda.

Reports emerged during pre-season testing that Red Bull was looking to sell the sister team due to poor performance, with RacingNews365.com previously revealing that it was offered $800m.

Red Bull declined the buyout and decided to restructure its management, bringing in Ferrari Sporting Director, Laurent Mekies and ex-F1 Secretary General Peter Bayer, and getting rid of longtime Team Principal Franz Tost.

This period was a tricky time for the team, said Tsunoda, and the AlphaTauri driver expressed his relief at the resolution, which has allowed the team to focus on racing activities.

"I think it's good for AlphaTauri, especially the engineers and mechanics [because] they now can focus completely [on] the racing," he told media, including RacingNews365.com.

"Definitely most of the mechanics and engineers [were] a little bit concerned about it."

Tsunoda: Right decision for Red Bull

Tsunoda believes it was the right decision for Red Bull given their history on the grid with bringing star talents through the ranks, including Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo, and Sebastian Vettel.

He added: "I think it's the right decision for Red Bull, because they had Toro Rosso, they have history, so suddenly you can’t just cancel those things.

"It’s a little bit different so it's good. And obviously for me, at least it’s one thing I don't have to be concerned about, so it's good."