After presenting its new single-seater in Paris and carrying out a first day of filming at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya with the A522, the Alpine team revealed one of the best-kept secrets of a Formula 1 car.
In the morning session of the first day of pre-season testing in 2022, the French were working on their car so that Fernando Alonso could go out on the track without any problem, but this forced the engine cover to be removed at times.
At Alpine they have already stated on several occasions that they have focused a large part of their work on the area of the power unit, and it is not uncommon to think that they could cause a surprise with the new regulations. However, they are the only ones equipped with the Renault engine on the entire grid, which could have significantly affected development in recent seasons.
Thanks to the slight oversight of the French mechanics and engineers, we were able to observe the appearance of the engine, which has nothing to do with the one they used in 2021 and with which they finished in fifth position among manufacturers with 155 points.
The A522 that went out on the track in the morning with the two-time Spanish champion at the controls enjoys a new design in the 6 cylinders that it mounts, and has a separation of the supercharger from the turbo . This has allowed the staff of the Viry factory, led by Bruno Famin, to have, in principle, a more powerful package.
Giorgio Piola ‘s photography reveals how the heat exchanger, which cools the air for the compressor, has been moved behind the chassis in a new position, while the radiators, which were previously located above the engine, have now moved to a separate area. later.
The image also shows how the aerodynamic design has been improved, reducing the part of the cover and completely changing the philosophy that Alpine had in the past.
Renault intends to make a real leap in quality in the 2022 season with more power in its engine, in addition to being leaders in the aerodynamic concept. It is still necessary to evaluate what is possible to squeeze out of the A522 with which they intend to climb positions in the classification, and they will have the six days of testing to test and corroborate what was investigated in Enstone.
