Short AlphaTauri 2023 Lineup Featuring 5ft 3 Yuki Tsunoda & 5ft 6 Nyck de Vries Given Wacky New Nickname

Alpine snatched away one of the most exciting talents from AlphaTauri. But the latter will probably not be too sad with the cards they have been dealt, as they have ended up replacing him with another strong driver.

Pierre Gasly’s move away from AlphaTauri was on the cards for a very long time. The discussions started as soon as Fernando Alonso’s move away to Aston Martin was announced, and later on as Oscar Piastri decided to sign with McLaren.

Gasly’s speed and experience in F1 made him a very useful driver to have on the team and Alpine believed he would form a good fit for the French team.

Now that Alpine’s move has been officially announced, it created a vacancy in the Italian team’s stables.

Yuki Tsunoda, a relatively inexperienced driver in comparison, will be given the responsibility of carrying on Gasly’s role on the team, as the #1 driver. And he will be pairing with, now confirmed, Nyck de Vries.

De Vries’ appointment will be his first full-time stint in F1. Although, he made his debut earlier this season when he replaced Alex Albon at Williams on the tracks of Monza.

His excellent performance earned him a commendable P9. The performance served as enough evidence of the 27-year-old’s talent and ability. 

After earning the seat, De Vries said, “I’m extremely excited to be joining Scuderia AlphaTauri for 2023 and I want to thank both Red Bull and the team for giving me the opportunity to drive in F1.”

Read More: WATCH: 27 Year Old Nyck de Vries’ Introduction to the F1 World 10 Years Before Being the Hottest Driver on the Market

The Italian team has taken a big decision to award both seats to 2 relatively inexperienced drivers of F1. While de Vries is the older driver, Tsunoda has the advantage of a full season in F1. It will be interesting to see how the team dynamics work out next season.

Fans rebrand AlphaTauri as both drivers, Tsunoda and de Vries share something in common

As Gasly’s, and subsequently de Vries’ contracts were announced, fans took to social media as they spotted something common between the new AlphaTauri lineup.

Tsunoda, at 5 ft 3, is the shortest driver on the circuits. And he will partner with de Vries, who is the second shortest at 5 ft 6 in. Spotting the commonality, fans have renamed the team AlphaTiny.

Watch This Story: Youngest F1 Drivers of All-Time

The height comparison of the drivers may be on a lighter vein, but their combined inexperience might be one aspect to worry about for fans of the team.