AlphaTauri reveals February launch date for 2021 F1 car

AlphaTauri has announced that it will reveal its 2021 Formula 1 car on Friday 19 February.

The Faenza-based squad has become the fourth team to confirm its launch plans for 2021, with its event taking place four days after McLaren and three days before Alfa Romeo’s unveiling of its C41.

On Thursday, AlphaTauri confirmed 19 February as the date it will reveal its 2021 challenger - the AT02 - on social media.

Reigning world champions Mercedes will present its W12 2021 F1 car two weeks later on 2 March, while the newly rebranded Aston Martin team is also set to launch its car in early March prior to pre-season testing in Bahrain on 12-14 March.

it's time to mark your calendars!

the AT02 is coming... pic.twitter.com/g3e8ssEKsz

— Scuderia AlphaTauri (@AlphaTauriF1) February 4, 2021

All of the launches confirmed so far will be digital, with physical unveilings currently made impossible due to restrictions in place because of the coronavirus pandemic.

AlphaTauri’s latest F1 machine will be driven by Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda, who has replaced Daniil Kvyat in the team’s line-up after a stellar 2020 Formula 2 season in which he finished third in the championship.

The 20-year-old Japanese driver has been carrying out an extensive testing programme ahead of his rookie F1 campaign with pre-season testing cut back to three days.

Teams are carrying a significant proportion of their 2020 cars into the new season due to a freeze on chassis development in a bid to save costs ahead of a major looming technical regulation overhaul in 2022.

Tsunoda has so far conducted four F1 tests with AlphaTauri in a bid to get him up to speed for his debut considering he will only get 1.5 days behind the wheel of the team’s 2021 car before the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix on 28 March.

AlphaTauri is planning on handing Tsunoda a further outing at Imola prior to pre-season testing so it can prepare him as much as possible as it eyes improving on its seventh-placed finish in the 2020 constructors’ championship.