The son of ex-Formula 1 driver Jean endured a disastrous 2022 campaign that yielded a single points finish all year, a ninth place in the opening weekend at Fuji Speedway.
Amid speculation that TOM’S could be looking to replace Alesi, the Toyota outfit took the chance to try out Ukyo Sasahara in last December’s post-season rookie test at Suzuka.
Sasahara won two races last year for Team Mugen but his split with Honda in favour of a switch to the Toyota camp left him without a drive in Super Formula.
However, despite TOM’S team director Jun Yamada calling Sasahara “far and away” the faster of the pair, Alesi was ultimately chosen over Sasahara for the seat in 2023.
Yamada explained that TOM’S owner Nobuhide Tachi was keen on retaining Alesi but said that the Frenchman appears to be more relaxed now than this time a year ago.
“Our team owner [Tachi] has a strong opinion that without ‘star’ drivers like Giuliano, Japanese motorsport in general will go into decline,” Yamada told Motorsport.com.
“Rather than looking at who is better or worse, Tachi likes to take a step back and consider the health of motorsport in general.
“Giuliano has a lot of things he needs to do, so I want him to tackle those one by one and become a stronger driver. There’s a lot for him to do, but he has to take it step by step.
“This year he seemed fairly relaxed coming to this test. I’m looking forward to seeing how he progresses. Of course we have our concerns, but as our owner says, it would be great if a ‘star’ driver like him is able to fight at the front in Super Formula.”
For his part, Alesi expressed his relief that he was finally retained by TOM’S after the team’s willingness to give Sasahara an outing in last December’s test.
“For sure last year was not the season that myself and TOM’S were expecting,” said Alesi. “We have analysed a lot of things together, so I think we have a good idea of what we can do differently to impact the results positively.
“So far the relationship with the team is better, and I feel like I’m growing [as a driver]. I’m really happy to be back with them, and I feel relieved to be able to participate again.”
On his targets for the season, Alesi added: “For now, entering the top six all the time would be a huge improvement compared to last year, and then hopefully I can slowly make my way up to the top step. What’s important is finishing in the points every single race.”
Alesi has extra support in his pit box this season in the form of Tatsuya Kataoka, the former team director at Rookie Racing who is still active as a driver in SUPER GT’s GT300 class.
Yamada is confident that the presence of Kataoka will have a positive impact on Alesi.
“Kataoka-san and Giuliano get along extremely well,” said Yamada. “I’ve known Kataoka since our F3 days, and he is really good at explaining things, so I think he’ll be able to explain well the things that Giuliano has to fix about his driving and about the car.
“I think Giuliano will also accept his advice, so I think they will be a strong combination.”
