Scuderia AlphaTauri will take an unchanged driver line-up of Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda into the 2022 Formula 1 season.
Gasly has driven for either of Red Bull’s F1 teams since the latter stages of the 2017 campaign, and currently holds eighth in the championship.
His place within the energy drink firm’s structure was already assured and, with the recent renewal of Sergio Perez at Red Bull Racing itself, the latest announcement essentially formalises the Frenchman’s status at AlphaTauri.
Gasly has been an impressive performer in 2021, including starting and finishing fourth in last weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix, where he suggested he was frustrated at not having been granted a recall to Red Bull’s senior team.
Speaking on the 2022 confirmation, the 25-year-old said, “I am very happy to be moving forward with Scuderia AlphaTauri for another season in Formula 1, especially after seeing the progress that we’ve made as a team since I first joined in 2017.
“Seeing the performance we’ve shown so far this season, I think there are great things to achieve for the rest of this season and for next year, especially with the upcoming changes to the championship in 2022.
“I’m very excited to see what we can accomplish in the new era of F1 and to keep working with the team as best as I can to bring us forward in the team standings.
“This year has been very successful so far and I really believe we can work well together to do even better in 2022.”
Tsunoda is 13th in the standings in his rookie season and the chances of his deal being renewed firmed when it emerged that Red Bull is looking to place Alexander Albon at Williams.
Said the Japanese driver about news he will stay on at the Faenza-based squad in 2022, “I’m really excited to be staying with Scuderia AlphaTauri for a second season.
“It’s an incredible opportunity and I’m so thankful to the team for letting me continue to grow my experience in Formula 1 with them.
“I have a very good relationship with Pierre, I have learnt a lot from him already this year and his experience has helped me to keep developing my own skills, so it’s great to be continuing my F1 journey with him.
“Having recently moved out to Faenza I am feeling very settled within the team and am looking forward to the upcoming season.”
Team principal Franz Tost added, “I’m pleased to announce today that we will keep both our drivers here at Scuderia AlphaTauri for the 2022 season.
“Pierre’s development in the years has been impressive and in his time with us he managed to make it to all three steps of the podium.
“Starting with the second place in Brazil in 2019, he then won our home Grand Prix the following year in Monza and this year he has already achieved a podium with a third place in Baku.
“I am confident there’s more to come and this is why we are excited to have him with us for another season.
“Furthermore, he is using his experience in F1 to help Yuki with his development. This year we have seen that the positive relationship between the two, made of a competitiveness on-track and a friendship off-track, has proven effective for the team.
“Yuki has joined the team as a rookie and is continuing to learn every day, the feedback from the engineers shows that he is absorbing all the information given to him and improving.
“As a rookie, Yuki is only at the beginning of this journey, so it’s good that he can continue what we’ve started together.
“It’s great for us to be securing our driver line-up so early in the season, so we can now focus on the rest of 2021, where we’re in a tough fight in the midfield pack.”
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