F1 | Alpine, from weight to low load: the weak points of the A524

The start of 2024 was undoubtedly very difficult for Alpine, probably the worst start to the championship since the team returned under the management of the Renault group in 2016. A start that, however, somehow the team expected , given that the problems had already emerged in December during development on the simulator.

In Bahrain Alpine proved to be the slowest team in qualifying, occupying the entire back row, while in Saudi Arabia they were only able to beat Logan Sargeant in the Williams and Guanyu Zhou in the Sauber, with the latter not However, he completed no timed laps. A start that Team Principal Bruno Famin himself defined as almost a shock, because he didn't expect to be so far behind in the ranking of values ​​on the field.

Alpine rightly preaches calm, underlining that it is a completely revisited concept which has also been accompanied by a new organizational chart after the farewell of two key figures such as the technical director Matt Harman and the head of the aerodynamic area Dirk de Beer. Development is now entrusted to a McLaren-style triumvirate: the role of technical director of engineering has been entrusted to Joe Burnell, that of technical director for aerodynamics to David Wheater, while Ciaron Pilbeam will be the technical director regarding the performance of the vehicle.

The engineers are aware that the car needs updates to unlock the potential that they thought the A524 could guarantee, especially since this new basis was designed with the aim of unlocking new directions in terms of development. The problem is not only to get out of this situation, defined as “not acceptable” by Famin himself, but also to do it in the shortest possible time. But what are the limitations of this single-seater?

The weight issue: a “fixed” disadvantage

Bahrain and Saudi Arabia are two quite different tracks in terms of characteristics, but both showed certain weaknesses of the car. Unfortunately, the A524 immediately showed all its limitations, starting with the weight issue.

Former technical director Matt Harman confirmed that the car is overweight and this is partly due to several elements, such as the need to strengthen the chassis. Alpine has in fact worked hard over the past year to review the bodyshell in terms of volumes, as the previous configuration on the A523 was considered too bulky. Furthermore, on the A524 the packaging between the chassis and Power Unit has also been revised, again with the aim of having greater benefits on an aerodynamic level.

However, some changes did not go in the hoped direction, with results that turned out to be opposite to what the data emerged in the simulations. Despite what was expected, the new body did not prove robust enough to pass the lateral crash test. This forced engineers to add more carbon skins to strengthen the frame, but this process cost additional weight.

A significant problem, also because carrying out invasive interventions would mean having to go through the process for passing the lateral tests and approving the bodywork again, a topic on which the teams are always rather cautious, given that it is an additional expense that would be preferred leave for the following year. 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.

Alpine A524 detail

Photo by: Uncredited

The problem is that, at the moment, being overweight not only has a negative impact in terms of lap time, but also limits freedom in terms of weight distribution, which has a negative impact on the number of options in terms of balance.

Poor traction and lack of load on the rear

In addition to the issue, however, three other elements are also added, namely the power of the Power Unit, traction and aerodynamic load at the rear. It is nothing new that the transalpine manufacturer's engine is behind its rivals and this remains a weak point that has its own specific importance, although the engineers have tried to make changes to limit the problem at both the software and hardware level, redesigning to example the design of the exhaust terminal above the gearbox structure.

However, the problems are more extensive and also concern other areas. The Alpine failed to hit its targets over the winter and lacks downforce, particularly at the rear, which also negatively affects traction. To try to improve the grip generated on a mechanical level, the technicians are working on the suspension, but these changes will also have to be integrated with interventions on the aerodynamic level.

The theme of traction and aerodynamic balance emerged during the first two rounds of the championship and it is interesting to address it because they highlighted it in a different way. The Bahrain track is among those considered rear-limited, meaning it puts particular stress on the rear axle. For this reason, given the numerous traction areas, there is a tendency to preserve the rear tires, especially considering that Sakhir has a rather aggressive asphalt on the tyres.

Esteban Ocon, Alpine A524

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

A problem that Alpine has clearly suffered. In an attempt to protect the rear end, the balance was changed, even if this caused a very annoying understeer which the drivers have been complaining about since the first free practice session. Although it is normal for certain limitations to emerge on a track like that of Bahrain, the French team suffered more than their rivals, sadly ending up occupying the entire last row of the grid. It is no coincidence that Alpine was the team that improved the least in terms of lap time, with only one tenth gained compared to the 2023 time.

However, there was no shortage of problems in Saudi Arabia too. On paper the drivers thought that the Jeddah track could be slightly more favorable than that of the first round of the season, although the limitations of the project remain very present.

The problems have manifested themselves since FP1: in the first sector, the most guided and technical one, it was not so much (and only) the lack of load that emerged, but rather the bouncing issue, or rather those annoying bounces that take away the driver's confidence. As for Mercedes, Alpine also suffered from bounces in the fast corners, amplifying the problems that emerged not so much in the first part of the snake, more supporting corners, but rather in the second phase, the one leading towards turns nine and ten, where the A524 it was among the slowest single-seaters in the entire field.

To understand, it is useful to give some references: if on average the top teams lose around 25 to 30 km/h from the entry of turn seven to the exit of turn ten where the lowest speed of the fast sequence is recorded, in the case of Alpine that delta increases up to around 40 km/h. Added to this is the fact that the entry speed into turn seven is already slower than its top rivals, which effectively only widens the difference at the end of the fast sequence.

Telemetry comparison of Ocon in Saudi Arabia between 2023 and 2024: note the clear deterioration in the first sector

Photo by: Gianluca D'Alessandro

From telemetry references, Alpine is among the slowest single-seaters ever in the fast zone, for example together with Haas, which certainly does not make performance in these sections its strong point, as also said by the drivers: it should be underlined, However, that Haas did not complete any other attempts in Q2, partly due to the technical problem suffered by Nico Hulkenberg at the fuel pump, partly because the strategists miscalculated with Kevin Magnussen, letting him cross the finish line when she had already been exposed the checkered flag. Furthermore, the VF-24 manages to be more effective in competition.

Looking at the data, it emerges that the A524 was the only car that did not improve in the first sector compared to last season, with a deterioration of more than two tenths in terms of best partial in qualifying. Although Ocon then also tried a more relaxed winger from Friday onwards, even with Gasly, essentially on a configuration very similar to the one used last year, the references are far from exciting and confirm that there is still a great work awaits the team.

“How long it will take I don't know, to be honest. Like all teams, we have updates coming, of course. We have theoretical numbers on what the updates will bring, and we are pushing to have these updates as soon as possible,” explained Famin. The engineers did not say too much about when the first update packages will arrive, but when they got out on the track it was first of all necessary to understand which were the most lacking areas in which to intervene.

“But everyone is in the same situation, even the first on the grid or on the podium. Everyone is pushing and the challenge is to go faster than the others. We have to continue working to improve. It was already a problem we had last year. We really need to understand and find solutions, and we are working on it”, added the Team Principal.