Why in Alpine F1 they do not obsess the figures of CV of their engine

After a major shake-up of the Formula 1 grid like the one we’ve had in 2022, it has been difficult to identify the influence of the chassis and power units on the performance change.

Doubts about whether or not Mercedes’ power unit has stepped back, for example, have been clouded by its chassis and the levels of drag from its high-downforce wing.

At the opposite end of the debate, at Alpine it has been difficult to calculate how much of their progress is due to aerodynamics and how much to their engine.

What is not in doubt is that the new 2022 Renault E-tech power unit is much better than its predecessor, and the turbo hybrid seems to be at least very close to the other manufacturers.

But for Alpine CEO Bruno Famin , who is in charge of its engine program, it’s not very important to know the exact horsepower figures that the Renault engine has.

However, that’s not because he doesn’t care about the units they make, it’s because for him, the ultimate goal is not to have the most powerful engine in F1, but for the power unit to become part of the best car. Of the grill.

When asked about the progress Renault’s engine has made in terms of power this year, his response is quick.

“To be honest, I don’t care about that,” he declares. “What matters to me is the performance of the car.”

“We made some decisions about the power unit to have the best car. Maybe we could have had a more powerful engine on the dyno, but with a car that was slower in the end.”

“Instead, the A522 has been designed together with the engine, and the power unit has been designed to get the best compromise for the best car. We will continue to work that way.”

(Before reading on…)

One obvious change meant to help improve Formula 1, rather than peak power, was Renault finally adopting the split-turbo and supercharger solution that Mercedes pioneered in 2014.

It was quite a significant change, but the team knew it would pay off at Enstone .

“It’s a good example of what I was saying, it’s better packaging mainly,” adds Famin. “It’s the kind of choice we made together with Enstone, but it’s not the only one.”

“It is one of the examples of how to improve the design of the car to have better aerodynamics, to have a lower center of gravity and in the end to have a better car, because the Alpine will achieve good results and score points.”

Famin joined Alpine earlier this year as part of the reorganization carried out by CEO Laurent Rossi .

The Frenchman had spent the last three years at the FIA , as director of operations. But before that, he was best known for his role as technical director at Peugeot , where he played a key role in the Le Mans-winning 908 project and the brand’s Pike Peaks victory in 2013.

Alpine signed him to take a step forward with Renault’s Viry-Chatillon engine facility and help better integrate its progress with the Enstone factory where the French manufacturer makes its F1 cars.

So changes are being made at Viry, which originally became part of Renault’s motorsports infrastructure in 1976.

Famin explained: “We continue to invest in the facilities. We have a new building for the engine, for the assembly of the power unit.”

“We are renovating the entire ground floor of the historic building. More than that, we continue to invest in new facilities, new dynamometers, new benches, new things to continue working on, to prepare for the development of the next generation.”

But more than the equipment at Viry, for Alpine to achieve the success it wants in F1, it knows that the chassis and engine must be integrated as much as possible.

And although it is not possible to eliminate the geographical problem of the chassis being manufactured in Enstone (Great Britain) and the engine in Viry (France), Famin suggests that things are better than they were a few years ago.

He believes that one of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, where people have been forced to work via video calls, is that now there is not much difference between the chassis and the engine, whether they are combined 30 or 350 kilometers apart. .

“Maybe COVID-19 helped us in that way,” Famin said. “COVID-19 turned everyone, wherever they were, into a new way of working together.”

“If you have one guy in Enstone and one in Viry, it’s almost the same as having one guy in Viry and another guy working at home 20km from Viry.”

“So it’s a new form of collaboration, of course. We also sent the right signals top management along with Otmar [Szafnauer, team principal], Pat Fry and Matt Harman.”

“We’re completely on the same page and we’re sending the right message to our guys.”

“The fact that the engine and the cars from 2022 are back there is a proof of concept. The guys are understanding that this is the way forward at all levels.

“I think everything is on the right track, we are not going to fail what Otmar wants, for sure. We know that it is the way to win, and we will push everyone in that direction.”

Fernando Alonso, Alpine F1 A522