Ricciardo pinpoints AlphaTauri 'shift' as breakway identified

Daniel Ricciardo has identified how AlphaTauri has broken away fromits 'back of the field' tag in a major mindset shift. Afterreturning in the United States from injury, Ricciardo and team-mateYuki Tsunoda enjoyed a late purple patch as the team climbed fromthe foot of the Constructors' to challenging Williams for seventhin a heavily-upgraded AT04. The team is undergoing major changesoff track as well, with long-time boss Franz Tost stepping down tobe replaced by CEO Peter Bayer and new Team Principal LaurentMekies. AlphaTauri is set to take more transferable components fromRed Bull in 2024, something that has prompted Zak Brown of McLarento question the "unhealthy" alliance, but Ricciardo is sure thatthe team can continue its upward trajectory. Riccardo on AlphaTauri"I feel a shift in the team, even though I jumped in pretty muchhalf way through the season," Ricciardo told media includingRacingNews365. "I feel like they are wanting to break away a littlebit from this kind of junior team and want to start showingthemselves a little bit more. "There's definitely an element of - Idon't want to say taking this thing seriously because of coursethey do - but just like: 'Let's step it up' and there's obviously afew new people coming in next year. "Even over the past fewweekends and getting some points from both Yuki and myself, it waslike the team needed it to give a bit of confidence and a bit ofself-belief. "I'm expecting that to carry over to next year, andhopefully we are fast, but we're not talking about aback-of-the-field team anymore, I'm confident we can push itforward. "Even with the length of time I have been here, I do feellike some of the direction that I pushed in and what we were ableto do in Mexico has given the team a little bit of: 'Alright, wecan keep pursuing this' and it is fun to be looking forward. "I amreally in a good place so my off-season won't be too long becauseI've been off, so I'm looking forward to maybe having a little bitof time off, but training my butt off and starting the new seasonstrong."