After Haas and Mercedes at Jerez, it’s Racing Bull’s turn at Imola. Yuki Tsunoda kicked off the Faenza team’s three-day session at the Enzo and Dino Ferrari circuit this morning with the AlphaTauri AT04, sporting a camouflage livery, similar to the one Mercedes used with the W12 driven by Kimi Antonelli in Andalusia.
The TPC (Test Previous Cars) does not display any sponsor logos: the Japanese driver used a “zebra” livery to comply with F1’s directive, which has decided to unveil all 2025 liveries during the London event on February 18, when the pinnacle of motorsport will celebrate its 75th anniversary.
The initiative is commendable, but it has effectively eliminated car unveilings: currently, only Williams and Ferrari will show their new cars, while some teams will run their cars only on filming days, leaving February with far fewer content than usual, emptying the winter months of the Circus.
Yuki Tsunoda, 24, from Sagamihara, begins his fifth F1 season and will be the lead driver for the Faenza team, where he made his debut. The Japanese driver found the Imola track wet due to rain, so he started his work with a set of full-wet tires, attempting to dry at least the ideal racing line.
Tomorrow, when the Sauber with the C42 will also be on track, debutant Isack Hadjar will take over, while Thursday will see Ayumu Iwasa, the rookie who tested with the VCARB 01 both in Japan and Abu Dhabi in 2024.
Leave a Reply