Alpine continues in its pursuit of McLaren for fourth place in the constructors’ world championship for the 2022 Formula 1 season, something that can almost be considered as being ‘the best of the rest’, behind Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes.
The Enstone team is putting in a lot of technical effort to get the most out of the A522 that Pat Fry has painstakingly crafted. At the Austrian Grand Prix they have introduced modifications to their car, just a week after the update package that appeared at Silverstone.
The most striking novelty is, without a doubt, the lowered rear wing , which follows the concept of mobile supports for the flaps that form the side, which causes a reduction in aerodynamic resistance and translates into top speed, something that that the French car does not lack.
In the only free practice session at the Red Bull Ring, the two drivers, Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon, did a round to compare the standard version with the new one before deciding which one to ride definitively for qualifying, the sprint race and the main test on Sunday.
But among the novelties of Alpine there is also an evolution of the Venturi tunnels , with a different flow separation and the appearance of a new vertical bargeboard, useful to prevent the turbulence of the front wheel from affecting the ground. This modification goes in the direction of looking for downforce, which is the aspect that is most lacking in the Enstone car.
It only remains to wait to see if these modifications are effective on the track, and it will be the stopwatch that dictates sentence for the French team in Austria.
