The 2022 season will be decisive for Alpine, as they have been working for several years on the regulation change that the FIA has introduced to improve the show on the track and increase the number of overtaking.
After finishing fifth in the constructors’ championship last year, the French will try to climb the classification, and in order to make the final leap in quality, the team has decided to put all its resources into the development of the A522 , which could surprise .
However, on the last day of the pre-season tests, when Fernando Alonso was at the wheel, they had a failure in the hydraulic system, which caused a small fire inside the engine cover, and made it impossible for them to return to the track, ending the first week of testing with seven hours of session still to go.
During this day, Motorsport.com had the opportunity to meet with the director of Alpine, Pat Fry , to find out what he expected and the plan of those from Enstone.
Q: Can you give us an assessment of this test week?
A: It’s been a frustrating day, but we’ve run reliably in the last few days. The most important thing is that we have found a correlation between the data from the tunnel and the track, although we have not pushed very hard, and we want to analyze every detail as much as possible before doing things.
This [Friday] morning we had a small hydraulic leak that caused a lot of damage to the gearbox. There was a fire between the engine and the transmission, when something like that happens you have to replace components, it takes at least 10 hours of work, and we only had 7 before the end of the day, it’s frustrating.
Q: First impressions of the car after these days?
A: It seems to be a good car, we have seen the correlation between the track and what we have seen in the wind tunnel and the simulator. We are not going fast, but we do not know the plans of our rivals.
Q: It seems that the drivers are happy with the new car, what do you think?
A: We have improved many areas compared to last season’s car, but this year the rules have changed radically with the introduction of ground effect. We have an idea of where we can be, but it is not definitive, it is difficult to know, because we do not know if the others push, we are not looking at their laps.
If you use the DRS you gain seven tenths, for example, and then there is the fuel load, which is going to be a real headache.
Q: Researching other cars, have you noticed any interesting features that Alpine may adopt?
A: I think there is always something to learn from others, each team has a working group with 50 aerodynamicists, and 500 people have worked for this regulation. There are so many solutions out there, that when two cars look alike, but the others are different, it’s beautiful. We learn all the time.
Q: Do you have updates in your plan for this season?
A: We work with deadlines, and we have improvements that will come for the Bahrain tests and the first race. We have a good package coming at the beginning of the year, and it will be the result of the wind tunnel research, but now we have to quickly evaluate the data we have obtained in the tests. Some upgrades will take three days, but others will take three months. We have a program, but we are attentive to the variables on the fly, that is part of the challenge.
Q: What has been the biggest challenge?
A: From a technical point of view, aerodynamics, the cars are very close to the ground, and it is likely that the bottom will break, therefore, there would be a significant loss of pressure. You have to take into account how the Venturi channels work, if you have a lot of load and it is not stable, it is useless, you have to find a balance. Redesigning the entire power unit also presented an additional challenge.
Q: Have you had any surprises in terms of the car’s reactions on the track?
A: No, we had some surprises on filming day because of the porpoising, but we solved it, and we saw that it affected everyone. We have to fix the behavior of the tyres, but it’s not a big problem.
Q: How have you managed to get rid of the rebound effect that was talked about so much yesterday?
A: It’s about finding the right aerodynamic balance, you don’t have to max out the aero. It’s not an easy thing, you need speed on the straights and go fast in the corners.
Q: What does it take to be competitive?
A: In order to move the team forward, three key factors are needed: a great group of people, good tools and a working method. We are improving in three areas.
The budget limit helps from this point of view, especially to maximize the working method, now those who used to invest large sums of money find their hands tied. The big teams are suffering from the limit, but it is an important challenge for everyone.
Q: How can it affect the budget cap?
A: If you have a major accident, you have to reshape your development and investment plan for the rest of the year.
Q: Have you seen any interesting solutions or something that you have discarded?
A: We have taken about 200 photos this morning! Of course, we saw many different solutions from our rivals, in some things we are similar, and in others we took different paths with the intention of achieving the same result.
