AlphaTauri’s AT02 hit the circuit with a revised front-end configuration as part of a filming day at Emilia Romagna Grand Prix venue Imola.
AlphaTauri unveiled its AT02 last Friday and on the studio shots supplied featured the same front end geometry as on its race-winning AT01.
As part of a filming day at Imola the AT02 appeared with a notably slender nose section, an area which technical director Jody Egginton confirmed had been the focus of development.
“We’ve elected to use our two tokens for a new nose and also redesigned the outboard front suspension, as a result of this we have elected to update some Red Bull Technologies supplied steering components to 2020 specification, as permitted by the Technical Regulations,” he said.
“The headline aero numbers have been affected by the aero change, but we have been working really hard to recover the lost performance and also improve the aero dynamic operating window for the car.
“How fast will our car be? It’s not something I would want to put an exact number to just yet.
“Overall, taking everything into account, I would say we will probably see a performance level similar to that seen mid-2020.”
Both Pierre Gasly and rookie Yuki Tsunoda got behind the wheel of the AT02 during the test, with the squad’s 2019-spec Toro Rosso STR14 also utilised.
McLaren and Red Bull have already run their respective 2021 cars while Alfa Romeo’s C41 is due to make its track debut on Friday in Spain.