Alpine is banking on its new infrastructure

The Alpine season has been disappointing. After finishing 4th in the 2022 championship with Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon, 2023 was supposed to confirm their good form. Despite the departure of their historic driver, the French team brought in Pierre Gasly. While in terms of pure driving, the season was convincing for the two French drivers from Normandy, the disappointment was in the car itself.

The A523 showed shortcomings in top speeds, with major reliability issues. Additionally, the development carried out during the season did not elevate a car that was already quite limited at the beginning of the year. As a result, Alpine was unable to compete with Aston Martin’s strong season and McLaren’s resurgence.

A team in the midst of change

The 2023 season at Alpine brought several changes. Firstly, the management is now led by Bruno Famin, following the departure of Otmar Szafnauer. Within the engineering team, the French team also saw the departure of its technical director, Pat Fry, to Williams. The organizational chart is currently being restructured.

The Alpine project itself is also undergoing significant evolution. Considerable investments have been made. The manufacturer must benefit from new infrastructures, including a new simulator to accelerate the development of the 2026 race car. Factory tools will also be strengthened.

“We are primarily focused on the future and the 2026 regulations, as well as the cars we need to manufacture by then,” explained Pat Fry’s successor, Matt Harman. “We have a major program at the Enstone and Viry sites to improve capabilities and functions. The entire project is funded. To achieve this, we will be installing all these equipment. There will be a team of workers to support the next two seasons and the 2026 regulations. We have been focusing on our simulation tools. We need to be more precise and efficient in order to obtain good feedback. This is one of our areas for improvement.”

The importance of a new simulator

Development is the key to progressing in a season. Therefore, a new and efficient simulator is an advantage in Formula 1. The Technical Director of Alpine is convinced that this new tool that Alpine will have is a major asset for the team’s future.

« It’s a fantastic capability, we are really excited about the simulator, it will be located in a massive building, which will also contribute to other developments, Matt Harman enthused. « What we currently have is a very, very good tool. But its resolution and bandwidth are not up to par. I think this will give drivers another level of confidence in the simulator’s correlation.

Progress has been observed in recent months at Alpine. The race car appeared to be more competitive than at the beginning of the year. However, fundamental problems still remain. « One of the things that really matters to me is the accuracy of identifying the root causes of our problems,” said the engineer. « Cost capping is very, very delicate if you fail to fully identify the root causes. Through simulation, we must acquire this understanding and strive to get things right the first time. »

Data not precise enough

The development errors of Alpine are said to come from the data received from the simulator. According to Matt Harman, the data was not always precise enough. As a result, the team turned to counter-current settings.

“When your tools are not sharp enough, you’re heading in the wrong direction,” explained the technical director of Alpine. “If you’re not skilled at simply checking, double-checking, and questioning yourself, I think you can come to incorrect conclusions. You may choose a direction that follows you for six months. I believe we are improving in this area, just like our abilities. As a result, the background tools themselves are also improving.”