Alpine, a racing team based in Enstone, didn’t have a good start this season. Their car, the A524, wasn’t as fast as they hoped it would be. It had some problems with its design, especially with getting enough downforce and power from the engine. Because of these issues, Alpine hasn’t scored any points yet in the races.
But in the recent race in China, they made a quick change to the car’s floor to try and make it better. This change helped them get closer to the weight limit that all F1 cars must meet.
The team’s technical director, Ciaron Pilbeam, said they were almost at the right weight after the change in China. But now, with another upgrade to the car’s floor, they’ve finally reached the minimum weight. Alpine’s team principal, Bruno Famin, explained that being at the right weight is important because it can make the car faster by about 0.2 seconds.
However, Famin also pointed out that being overweight wasn’t their main problem. Their biggest issue was not having enough downforce and struggling to make the tires work well during qualifying. Despite this, solving the weight problem faster than expected is a good sign for the team. It shows that they’re working hard to improve the car as quickly as possible.
Alpine has made changes to its technical department structure earlier this season. Now, with a new technical director, David Sanchez, they’re planning the next steps to improve the car even more. They’ve brought in two aerodynamic upgrades this season, but they know there’s still a lot of work to do.
Esteban Ocon, one of Alpine’s drivers, said that the car feels better with the weight loss. They’ve seen some improvements, but they know they still need to work on making the car faster, especially during qualifying. Despite the progress, they’re aware that they’re not where they want to be yet, but they’re determined to keep pushing forward and making the car better.
