The reintroduction of ground effect for the 2022 Formula 1 season caused more headaches than expected in the first pre-season tests at the Circuit de Barcelona – Catalunya, as most teams suffered from the famous rebounds on the straights.
This is because when these cars are going at speed, the edge of the ground flexes towards the tarmac, sealing off the flow of air passing under the car and producing a sudden and continuous decrease and increase in downforce.
Several teams, including Mercedes, mounted small parts during testing to strengthen the ends of the car floor, with the intention of stopping this movement, while the FIA and F1 reached an agreement to make a modification in the rules that would allow the use of these new pieces that some teams were already installing.
Alpine believes that this measure did not help them, since they had worked all winter in a ground sufficiently reinforced not to flex at high speed. And they did so despite being aware that this meant accepting that their car would be heavier compared to the teams that opted for a more flexible and less robust solution.
Referring to a question from Motorsport.com about how on top of porpoising they were at Alpine before coming to testing, Pat Fry , the team’s technical director, said: “I wouldn’t say we were smarter and designed the car around to porpoising .”
“We designed our car with the sole aim of getting as much performance as possible, but accepting that it was going to be a bit heavier and that it was going to be a bit overweight.”
“We put a lot of stiffness into the floor of the car because our wider chassis at the top also allowed us a stiffer setup. So to be honest, that helped us.”
“It was a bit frustrating when these extra parts were allowed to be added. We haven’t put them in because we already have a stiff enough car, but I think that has helped others a lot. This is all part of the game. Now we just have to get it in mind and design the next update with that in mind. We can make a lighter car.”
Alpine is expected to bring a number of upgrades to the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix later this month, with Fry suggesting that following the latest rule changes they would also have to consider weight savings as well as performance gains.
“We have to do both. Clearly everything is gaining lap time, but we have to work things out sensibly. We have some improvements lined up for the next two or three races, but they are all based on our knowledge before we hit the track. “.
“After that obviously there will be more updates as everyone will have seen new and interesting things in other cars. We want to try and cut as much [weight] as possible. We’re not that far away but we want to get down to a couple of kilos. under”.
Pat Fry also admitted that teams had to juggle the weight of all the components, due to potential reliability issues with them being too brittle.
“It’s quite a challenge. Running over curbs, obviously we have to make things stiffer and heavier to try and make them not break easily.”
“So it’s a bit of a battle. Normally the cars are five kilos heavier in the first half of the season while you’re trying to make it as reliable as possible, and with these cars we’re much more vulnerable to that now.” from Alpine .
