The current performance of the French team is the result of quite intense development work this season that has helped Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon to continue to score points, and even leave some truly outstanding performances.
Ocon’s fifth place at the recent Austrian GP, and Alonso’s comeback from the back of the grid (19th), which could have taken him to sixth place had it not been for a problem after a pitstop, is proof of the A522 ‘s potential, and has sparked optimism for the upcoming races.
The pace at the Red Bull Ring was aided by a new rear wing , which they have designed around the selection of four different downforce options that they have already used so far this season.
This new design apparently sits between the medium and high downforce options it has already used.
The fact that Alpine have opted for yet another change is perhaps an indication of the solid progress they have made, especially when they combine their different versions with the beam spoiler.
Whereas previously Alpine had preferred a flatter wing main profile design, they have now opted for a deeper center section and a shallower outer section (the upper of the two in the image that opens this article).
This has also led to the modification of the outer section of the upper flap and endplate transition, where he has had to alter the altered cutout quite a bit as well (see the yellow line below to compare the two versions).
Alpine A522 rear wing comparison
Alpine has also joined Alfa Romeo in using a teardrop-shaped DRS pivot (circled above), which like the aforementioned team also has a pivot section mounted on the side of the flap, which causes there to be a closed line through it.
That means that when the DRS is activated, part of the teardrop-shaped pivot is raised next to the fin.
Alpine develops the 2022 F1 car from start to finish
Alpine had a major upgrade package in place for the previous race at Silverstone, the centerpiece of which was a redesign of its side bodywork.
At the front of the sidepod, the team wraps the bodywork even tighter than before.
The upper body of the pontoon has adopted the bathtub-shaped indentation in the upper surface, a concept that Ferrari has employed with the F1-75 since the start of the season.
Where Alpine has incorporated a bit more versatility is in regards to the cooling gills, as seen when comparing their setup from the last two races.
At Silverstone gills were used that followed the contours of the upper surface of the pontoon indentation, while at the Red Bull Ring they did not exist, directly. The panel, on the now higher rounded shoulder, has more openings with which to reject the heat created inside.
Red Bull’s latest changes to its car for F1 2022
Red Bull Racing RB18 Engine Cover Cooling Outlet
Red Bull also arrived in Austria with several new features that it hopes will improve the car’s envelope.
This comes after the team already made a significant change to the RB18’s body design at Silverstone.
There, his big change was mainly centered around a new engine cover that creates a shelf and alters the behavior of the airflow as it passes over it, towards the cooling outlet and under it in the bottle-shaped area of the engine. Coke.
For Austria, the team made a change to the spinal column of the engine cover, removing a section of bodywork to help reject heat generated within.
It’s a solution that’s hardly a new design, as teams like Alpine and Haas already have similar designs, suggesting that Red Bull may have taken inspiration from its rivals in that regard.
Detalle del Red Bull Racing RB18
The team has also done an overhaul to the ground fence that’s deeper inside, removing some of the material from the lower area to improve performance across a range of ride heights.
He also made a change to the front brake disc fairing, which is another of the many optimizations the team has made to that component this season.
The fairing, which isolates the brake disc from the large volume of the inner brake drum, has an impact on airflow and heat rejection, so the team is keen to keep both at bay.
Red Bull Racing RB18 brake cooling detail
Limitations imposed by the 2022 regulations mean that airflow past that assembly must escape through a rear-facing outlet mounted on the inside of the brake duct fence.
This was implemented in order to prevent teams from pouring airflow out across the face of the wheel and to undo the work done to reduce the amount of outwash that teams are capable of generating, and that was an important focus of development with the previous regulation.
Following the progress made by the team on all points of the car, the team has not only revised the shape of the fairing over the last few races, but has also eliminated the need to pull on extra insulation.
To achieve this, a heat resistant coating has been applied, with a surface treatment applied to both the disc fairing and the caliper.
To add more help in terms of heat management, and the passage of airflow around the disc, the shape of the fairing was modified once again for Austria, where they widened the top corner (red arrow).
Red Bull RB18 front brake set
Changes to the 2022 Aston Martin F1 car
Aston Martin AMR22 brake duct detail
Another interesting development that appeared at the British Grand Prix and that will probably be studied by its rivals was that found in the Aston Martin AMR22.
As part of a fairly extensive update to their home run, the team added a collection of small winglets to the inner fence of the rear brake duct.
Those winglets will alter the course of the airflow as it collects between the fence and the tire sidewall, while adding more downforce.
