Not just Williams. The Grove team is not the only team that does not have a third spare chassis available at this start of the championship, because Alpine also finds itself in the same situation, with the risk that an accident could irremediably compromise the weekend. This was confirmed by the Team Principal of the transalpine team himself, Bruno Famin, who highlighted how this problem arose due to the delays encountered before the start of the season.
It is no mystery that the 2024 car was born overweight and this is partly due to several elements, such as the need to strengthen the chassis. Alpine in fact worked hard during last winter to review the bodyshell in terms of volumes, as the previous structure on the A523 was considered too bulky.
However, some changes did not go in the hoped direction, with results that turned out to be different from the data that emerged in the simulations. Despite what was expected, the new body did not prove robust enough to pass the lateral crash tests. In order to receive homologation, the engineers were forced to add additional layers of carbon to strengthen the frame, but this process clearly negatively affected the total mass and performance due to the additional weight.
The 2023 Alpine chassis, which was revised in winter because it was judged to be too bulky in terms of volumes: the innovations, however, led to delays in the homologation process.
Picture of: Giorgio Piola
A significant problem, also because carrying out invasive interventions on the body would mean having to re-go through the process for passing the lateral tests, an issue on which the teams are always rather cautious, given that it is an additional expense that they would prefer to leave in view of the 'next year.
The delays accumulated in the process of receiving homologation then also affected the creation of the spare chassis, which will only arrive in two weeks for the Chinese Grand Prix. Like Williams, Alpine also risked having to race with just one car if one of the two drivers damaged the bodyshell in one of the first three rounds of the world championship, especially on street circuits. The danger remains for this weekend in Japan, but the hope is that the wide escape routes will reduce the risk.
“The homologation process was quite difficult, because we wanted to find the best compromise between weight, rigidity and mechanical characteristics. It was difficult to pass the homologation and for this reason we accumulated delays on what was our original plan”, explained Team Principal Bruno Famin on the sidelines of the press conference, underlining how the team also had to choose what to give priorities and where to invest resources in this first part of the world championship.
Esteban Ocon, Alpine A524
Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
“Now we are in this situation and we have to make choices, deciding what to prioritize between the reserve chassis and the technical innovations, because it's not just about having updates, but also about having stocks. Now we have to keep our fingers crossed for a few more sessions,” added Famin.
The team knows where the extra kilos are and there are some details on which they hope to be able to recover weight in order to lighten the A524. Precisely for this reason, the first package of the season has arrived here in Suzuka, including a new front wing with revised flaps and other innovations to lighten the car and get closer to its rivals. Furthermore, like McLaren, the French team also tested two different rear wings today to find the ideal level of load. These are not innovations that will revolutionize the ranking, but it is still a first step in trying to move up the rankings: as confirmed by Famin, the hope is that the next package of innovations can arrive in time for the sixth round of the world championship, or the Miami Grand Prix.
The Team Principal also addressed why Alpine ended up so far behind on the grid: in addition to the problems that arose following the change of concept in the winter, Famin believes that the French team was unable to maintain the pace of development of its opponents, even of teams with fewer resources.
“The underlying problem is that there are no more small teams now. In the past there were teams that were in difficulty, but this is no longer the case, partly also thanks to the fact that Formula 1 is now more attractive. All teams are growing, all teams want to fight to grow. We probably had more difficulty in progressing like other teams, we stayed where we were instead of improving. And if you don't improve, you lose ground and end up behind in the rankings.”
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