Alpine in Mexico was able to defend itself from the offensive brought by AlphaTauri for fifth place in the Constructors’ World Championship thanks to the ninth place of a tough Fernando Alonso.
The Spaniard has put two points in the Enstone’s game bag that allow him to maintain his position, otherwise there would have been overtaking by the Romagna team led by Franz Tost, because Esteban Ocon was unable to enter the top 10 after replacing the engine , adopting the Renault PU4 which cost him the start in the last row alongside Lance Stroll.
The A521s did not shine on the heights, but they resumed moving the rankings after the stop in Austin: the Spaniard was forced to retire due to the collapse of the rear wing due to the violent stresses due to the bumps of the American track, while Ocon had stopped due to a mechanical problem at the rear of the car.
Alpine A521, detail of the reinforced rear wing on the side bulkhead after the failure in Austin
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
The cracks in the side bulkhead of the Alpine had worried the technicians who brought a decidedly reinforced version to Mexico that would be able to withstand the loads they have to undergo once the car hits the curbs.
To optimize the cooling of the Renault power unit, in the rarefied air of Mexico, on the generous bonnet of the A521, two long vents have appeared at the edges of the dorsal fin, to extract the hot air from the radiator which is mounted above the 6. cylinders.
The technical team led by Marcin Budkowski took up the concept of the … chimney that Mercedes had used for years in the hottest races and then abandoned in the last three seasons, below.
Mercedes AMG F1 W09, detail of the chimney on the bonnet
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
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