07 Feb 2024 at 15:51
Alpine presented the A524 on Wednesday. The car that the French-British formation will drive in Formula 1 next season has been significantly updated compared to its not very successful predecessor. Even the paint had to suffer.
That’s the first thing you notice about the new Alpine: the color. Or especially the lack thereof. Formula 1 teams have struggled in recent years to get the car around the minimum weight of 798 kilos. Paint is also weight, so it is left out as much as possible. Alpine goes quite far in this. The car is almost as black as the 2023 Mercedes.
The predominantly blue color scheme has therefore disappeared. But more has changed. According to top technician Matt Harman, the car is “new from front to back, except for the steering wheel”.
“The previous car clearly did not deliver what we wanted,” the Briton looked back on Alpine’s disappointing last season. “So we have taken a new approach and think we can do more with this concept. The previous car hit a development ceiling.”
Foto: Alpine
Just a bit of a copy of Red Bull
In appearance, what is particularly striking is the wider nose and the modified sidepods. Alpine has not copied the successful Red Bull, although the sidepods do have a very tight underline running under the sidepods. That is reminiscent of Max Verstappen’s RB19.
The sidepods have channels running backwards, just like on the A532, with which the wind is to be guided between the rear wheels and over the diffuser. Alpine also had this concept last season, but it has now been designed in a more extreme way. This also applies to the air intakes for the engine cooling, which have been given a more Ferrari-inspired narrow rectangular shape.
What is striking is that Alpine has not switched to one pullrod-front suspension, like Red Bull and McLaren last year. Sauber also showed such a front suspension on Monday, with a rod running from the bottom of the nose to the top of the wheel hub. This provides aerodynamic advantages, but it is mechanically more complicated. At Alpine, the bar is the other way around, as with most cars on the grid in 2023.
Foto: Alpine
A lot of work has been done underneath
Harman said at the presentation that a lot of work has also been done to optimize the inside of the car. For example, Formula 1 cars now also have subcutaneous bodywork to properly guide the wind through the car. Alpine has also moved the position of the hybrid system to optimize weight distribution. The engine would also have been modified somewhat within the strict regulations. Alpine’s Renault engine is considered the weakest on the grid.
The British Enstone-based formation will once again have Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly behind the wheel this season, with Jack Doohan (son of former motorsport legend Mick Doohan) as first reserve.
Formula 1 starts on February 21 in Bahrain with the three-day preparation. The first Grand Prix of the season will also be held in Bahrain on March 2. Reigning champion Verstappen’s new Red Bull will be unveiled on February 15.
2024-02-07 14:51:59
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