2024 was not born under a lucky star for Alpine and probably represents the worst start to the championship since the team returned under the management of the Renault group in 2016.
From a certain point of view, these difficulties were expected, given that the first problems had already emerged last December during development on the simulator, but realistically no one expected to find themselves in the position of having to avoid being at the bottom of the list. For this reason, some news should be arriving as early as the next appointment in Japan.
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 Williams and Guanyu Zhou in Sauber, with the latter However, he did not complete any timed laps. In Australia, on a track more suited to the characteristics of the A524, we saw some encouraging signs, especially in qualifying, but it is clear that just understanding the car is not enough to make a decisive step forward.
Pierre Gasly, Alpine A524
Photo by: Alpine
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, which is why behind the scenes the team is working to understand the weak points of the single-seater and which These are the areas that need immediate intervention.
At the moment the A524 lacks power, an aspect already known from previous years, but it is also lacking from an aerodynamic point of view, especially in terms of load on the rear, an aspect which in turn also negatively influences the traction phase and tire management. Alpine tried to make the first mechanical changes to the suspension, but this was not enough to solve the problems.
In fact, another element is added to this, namely the weight issue: the mass of the 2024 single-seater is significantly higher than the minimum imposed by the technical regulations, leading to a clear disadvantage compared to the competition.
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.
Pierre Gasly, Alpine A524
Photo by: Mark Horsburgh / Motorsport Images
However, it is also necessary to press the accelerator on developments to try to close the gap. For now, no team has brought large packages, but other mid-table teams have already debuted the first technical innovations, such as Sauber with a new front wing in Melbourne. Racing Bulls should bring something to Suzuka, as well as other teams: among these there will also be Alpine itself.
“I heard that many teams will bring upgrades to Suzuka. I think it's good that we will also bring some new things, so we can see what effect they will have on our car. It will be a step forward compared to the situation we are in now, at the moment we need every single update possible to improve performance”, explained Pierre Gasly at the end of the Australian weekend.
“So it's positive. I know there will be more to come later. But I believe that at the moment it is above all a question of trying to understand what the general picture is, whether to remain faithful to the concept we have or try to change direction”, added the transalpine driver, suggesting that the first updates will be central to understanding whether to continue or less on this road.
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