Jonathan Eddolls: AlphaTauri rookie Nyck de Vries has done well with a tricky car

Jonathan Eddolls, the head of trackside engineering at AlphaTauri, concedes that their challenging AT04 car has posed difficulties for F1 rookie Nyck de Vries.

The car's primary weakness lies in its rear-end entry stability, which has proven to be a hindrance for the Dutch driver.

Additionally, de Vries, like other F1 newcomers, has faced a demanding series of street and temporary tracks during the initial part of the season, further exacerbating the situation.

As a result, de Vries has struggled to match the performance of his teammate Yuki Tsunoda, putting him under pressure from his team boss Franz Tost and Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko to elevate his performance.

"It's not been an easy car for a rookie to get used to," said Eddolls. "Some drivers find it harder to adapt to one with entry instability than others.

"I wouldn't say Nyck is someone who particularly struggles with that, but for sure to try to get a set-up that suits him has been a little bit more challenging with some of those issues.

"I would actually say that one of Nyck's strengths is his feedback. We could see as soon as he came in that he understood the limitations, the weaknesses.

"Obviously, he's a rookie in a way, but he has got a lot of experience. And I think he's very good technically as well. He really understands the way the car is, and how it works mechanically.

"One of his big strengths is actually his feedback and his targeted approach to the areas that we need to work on to help him, and also to help the team. So a big positive, I'd say."