AlphaTauri claim de Vries 'not a rookie'

AlphaTauri technical director Jody Egginton has declared Nyck de Vries as "not a rookie" ahead of his full-season F1 debut.

The Dutch driver has joined the Faenza-based outfit having enjoyed championship success for Mercedes in Formula E, as well as spending an extensive period as Mercedes reserve driver.

De Vries replaces Alpine recruit Pierre Gasly and will partner Yuki Tsunoda during the Japanese driver's third campaign in the sport.

"They have bedded in quite well together," said Egginton, speaking on the first day of the Bahrain pre-season test.

De Vries' role as Mercedes reserve driver saw him placed at Aston Martin and Williams for FP1 rookie runs, as well as filling in for Alex Albon when making his debut at the Italian Grand Prix last year.

"Nyck might be considered a rookie in F1 terms but in terms of a race driver and a test driver, he is certainly not a rookie so he has been very good for us," added Egginton.

"We have spent a lot of time with him downloading what he knows, getting his ideas. He has asked us an awful lot of questions, he is pushing engineers hard.

"It is a little bit different to normal but it is good, he is going to push us hard this year. We have high expectations from him, he has high expectations from us and he is clear on what his objectives are.

"It is all good stuff really, all positive so far and one thing is for sure, if he has something to say, he will say it which is good for the team."

AlphaTauri 'aggressive' with new car

Yuki Tsunoda was the first to take the new AT04 out on track in the morning on day one of the test, with the team hoping to take steps from the disappointing campaign last year where it finished only ninth in the constructors' standings.

"Last season wasn't what we wanted as a team, we spent quite a lot of time reflecting on that and understanding exactly what we needed to do to be back and strong in the midfield," explained Egginton.

"There has been a lot of reflection, a lot of work.

"We have been aggressive with this car, we believe, in terms of the architecture structurally and aerodynamically.

"We were really focused in the wind tunnel, trying o address the issues, get more load onto the car, we have done the filming day which was a little snippet of 100km and now we are just getting into it.

"Really keen to know now how the car compares to the development tools and what the drivers' feedback is."

READ MORE: IN PICTURES: F1 Bahrain pre-season test - Day one morning session

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