AlphaTauri CEO admits three drivers will be emulating Oscar Piastri ‘programme’ this year

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AlphaTauri CEO Peter Bayer admits that three Red Bull young drivers are going to be emulating Oscar Piastri’s programme before he secured a seat in Formula 1.

Oscar Piastri’s debut campaign in F1 is likely to be the blueprint for young drivers for years to come after starring throughout the season with McLaren.

Speaking to Motorsport.com, Peter Bayer announced that one change the team is making this year could really benefit their roster of rookies looking to make the next step up in their careers.

One of the biggest issues for young drivers trying to step up into Formula 1 is the lack of available track time.

In the past, drivers could take part in as many tests as possible as they attempted to wrestle with an incredibly complicated machine at high speeds.

Unfortunately, drivers are now only allowed to test in cars that are two years out of date and given how quickly the sport moves on, that’s no longer very beneficial.

F1 teams are now required to give up each car for one free practice session per season to a rookie, but an hour on track is barely enough time to adjust.

Bayer has now said that their young drivers being allowed to use the 2022 cars will allow them to emulate the success of Oscar Piastri.

The Australian did a huge amount of work behind the scenes while in Alpine’s academy during the year between winning the F2 title and racing for McLaren.

While the French team would have hoped he would be enjoying that success in their car, he certainly benefitted from that opportunity.

Bayer wants Red Bull’s young drivers to benefit from Piastri programme

Speaking about the testing situation, Bayer said: “That’s another new area for us next year.

“We want to take some of the money we’re making currently to make sure we can prepare the young drivers in the best possible way.

“And I think Oscar Piastri is the best example. He ran I don’t know how many hundreds or thousands of miles [with Alpine], but he came in and he understood the car.

“He understood the dynamics, he understood the switches, and it makes such a big difference, and so it connects you fully.

“And we have a big programme actually for Liam and Isack [Hadjar] and potentially [Ayumu] Iwasa, and we want to make sure that we run them as much as possible also.

“It’s interesting that the previous car is a 2022 car, so it’s finally a relevant car.”

Liam Lawson, Isack Hadjar and Ayumu Iwasa will all hope that they can get as many opportunities as possible now to drive the 2022 F1 car.

Bayer will want all three drivers to prove they have what it takes to race for AlphaTauri or even Red Bull in the future and potentially compete with Piastri on track.

Trio of youngsters in unique scenarios

There is still an awful lot of hype around Liam Lawson right now after his stunning cameo last year.

Christijan Albers has tipped the young Kiwi to be on the grid sooner rather than later, while Sky Sports pundit Karun Chandhok thought he was ‘outstanding’ last year.

Isack Hadjar is a name worth remembering as he’s also going to be challenging for a spot in F1 very soon.

Set to drive in Formula 2 this year, Marko has already been told he could be forced to introduce the Frenchman to F1 sooner rather than later.

Iwasa has just left F2 after a strong campaign last year and will be driving in Super Formula in 2024.

It’s where Lawson caught Red Bull’s attention in 2023 and the Japanese driver will hope he can do the same this season.