AlphaTauri ‘insulted’ by conspiracy claims and defend Red Bull strategy guru
AlphaTauri have fiercely rejected suggestions they colluded with sister team Red Bull to help Max Verstappen during Sunday’s Dutch Grand Prix.
Verstappen, who went on to win the race, faced the prospect of falling behind Lewis Hamilton after his intended final pitstop. But the course of the race changed amid AlphaTauri driver Yuki Tsunoda’s bizarre retirement which brought out the virtual safety car.
Tsunoda initially stopped on the side of the track, telling the team over the radio that something felt strange with the car after a pitstop. The Japanese driver then loosened his seatbelt and prepared to get out, only to be told to restart and drive the car back to the pits by his engineer.
READ MORE: Lewis Hamilton defends Red Bull strategy ace after abuse and conspiracy theories
Once back in the pits, the AlphaTauri crew refitted his seatbelt, changed his tyres and sent him back out again. However, Tsunoda still wasn’t happy with the car and was finally instructed to pull off the track.
That triggered a virtual safety car, which gave Verstappen enough time to make his second stop and retain the lead ahead of Hamilton. With Red Bull and AlphaTauri so closely linked, suspicions were immediately raised.
Many fans took to social media to cry foul play, with some bizarrely accusing Red Bull head of strategy Hannah Schmitz of orchestrating a conspiracy to help Verstappen win his home race.
However, AlphaTauri have released a statement strongly rejecting those claims and defending the respected Schmitz, one of the few women in senior engineering positions in the sport.
What do you think about the criticism of AlphaTauri? Tell us in the comments section below.
“It is incredibly disheartening to read some of the language and comments directed at our team and towards Red Bull Racing’s Head of Strategy, Hannah Schmitz.
“Such hateful behaviour cannot be tolerated, and to entertain accusations of foul play is unacceptable, untrue and completely disrespectful towards both Hannah and us.
“We have always competed independently, fairly and with the highest levels of respect and sportsmanship.
“Yuki had a failure that the team didn’t immediately detect which caused him to stop on track. To suggest anything different is insulting and categorically incorrect.”
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