Yuki Tsunoda (P16): 4.5/10
Whatever AlphaTauri were trying this week, it certainly wasn't working for Yuki Tsunoda who seemed unable to find any sort of harmony with the AT03 at the Red Bull Ring. A flurry of deleted lap times for other drivers helped him get through to the second round of qualifying, and he insisted a top ten position had been on the cards, but instead he found himself in P14 on the grid for the sprint. He went backwards on Saturday and dropped three places with a slow start, and was perplexed by how his team mate Pierre Gasly could be so much quicker despite carrying damage. The "endless" Grand Prix itself was no better, as he struggled with the initial set of hard tyres and fought with Fernando Alonso. He insisted he had given his all, but that hadn't been good enough to prevent the team slipping behind Haas and down to eighth in the constructors standings.
Pierre Gasly (P15): 5.5/10
Things were hardly any better for the other AlphaTauri, with Pierre Gasly 16th in first practice. He escaped elimination in the first round of qualifying by the skin of his teeth but was much more competitive in Q2, when he missed out on progressing only because race control didn't spot Sergio Perez' track limits violation until it was too late. Gasly was realistic enough to know that the P10 he was subsequently handed was almost certainly the best he could have hoped for, and this was borne out by a weak showing in the sprint race as a result of floor damage stemming from his first lap collision with Lewis Hamilton which dropped him down to 15th on the grid for the Grand Prix. He had no more luck there, picking up a penalty for exceeding track limits once too often and then another for bumping Sebastian Vettel into the gravel for which he reluctantly took the blame. Too slow, no rhythm, Gasly said the team would have to find answers before his home race in France next time out.
