After a difficult first week of testing in Barcelona, the Alpine A522 seems to have taken a step forward in Bahrain, something that was contrasted with Esteban Ocon’s return on Thursday morning. The French rider finished at the top of the timesheets in the morning session, finishing the day in sixth place.
The first two days of shooting at Sakhir saw the premiere of Renault’s new power unit, which now features the split-turbo layout previously used by Mercedes.
“In Barcelona, we raced without DRS, just on C2 (Pirelli’s second-hardest compound), not at full power,” Pirelli CEO Laurent Rossi told Anthony Davidson for F1 TV.
“We still don’t have full power due to the new engine, and we are going step by step,” he continued. “It seems to be going well, we put things together, yesterday (Thursday) we had a difficult day with a problem with the radiator and we lost two hours.
“We’re back on track and we’re in the thick of it. I wouldn’t say we’re incredibly competitive, I don’t think everyone is showing their cards, but at least we’re competitive, and that’s good,” Rossi said.
The Alpine director admitted that the team is still learning about its power unit, although they are focused on setting up the car for better handling.
“First of all, it’s about making sure this engine is delivering what we expect from it, and then developing it in terms of power,” he explained. “It has two aspects, the planning of the operation of the turbo, the new compressor, which is a split turbo, so it has a different geometry, and we have to study it.”
“And then the engine maps, investigating the deployment of electrical power on the track. It’s important, so we’re learning as we go,” added the Enstone-based team member.
“We need to decide where deployment is needed, where it isn’t, it’s to optimize the battery capacity to see where the drivers feel most comfortable with the torque,” Rossi said.
“For example, out of a corner, do they need all the torque, are they fine with what they have, and can we save power for the next corner? So we need to determine where the K, the electrical power, is deployed.”
The French team manager acknowledged that, like its rivals, Alpine is still adapting to the stiff setup and height these cars have been forced to have in 2022.
“The driving is slightly tough for us in Bahrain,” he commented. “It’s very different to last year, we can’t go over the curbs, it’s different, but the car handles well so that’s good for us.”
“The most important thing is that it’s consistent, we’ve had a little bit of damage on the ground, which is not good, so it’s not worth putting in a great lap if you then destroy it five laps later,” he said.
“So far everything is going well, we are able to maintain the performance for several laps, which is a good sign for a full race, that’s where we are,” Rossi said.
