For Jody Egginton, following the Red Bull concept offers no guarantees
Red Bull is the first team to have incorporated the concept of downwashing into a race car. Currently, it is considered the best interpretation of the regulations. However, the technical director of AlphaTauri prefers to focus on the consistency of the car.
AlphaTauri seems to be heading towards a much more successful season than 2023. The results at the end of the season speak for themselves. The partnership with Yuki Tsunoda has brought a lot to the team. Just like his ongoing progress, the Italian team has relocated its aerodynamics department to Milton Keynes.
With the 2022 regulations, AlphaTauri, like many other teams, has turned to the concept of downwashing. The one many teams have opted for, including Mercedes, is the zero sidepod concept. However, while downwashing seems to be the dominant concept, AlphaTauri’s technical director believes that following this path offers no guarantees to the teams.
“People converge in any regulation,” said the engineer to AutoSport. “Red Bull, McLaren, and a few other teams have shown some truly interesting development directions, and everyone is looking at what each has done. Our concept is a downwashing concept, which is not unlike that of a number of other teams. But the devil is in the details. There are cars that don’t make it to the podium every weekend and possess truly interesting characteristics.”
Bring coherence
AlphaTauri managed to optimize its development to the maximum at the end of 2023. With these improvements, the team finished 8th in the last championship. The team plans to take advantage of this resurgence of form and positivity for the development of the 2024 car.
« You need to make sure that the car has good operational envelope and is maneuverable,” stated Jody Egginton. « With the evolving regulations, it is becoming increasingly important not to fall into the trap of being too attracted to a concept and missing out on driving coherence. We want the drivers to be able to utilize the aerodynamic performance on different types of circuits. We have learned from 2019 to 2021 that if you want to be strong, you must be consistent.”
The team that should inspire the paddock is McLaren. After a chaotic start to the year, the series of consistent improvements on the MCL60, the British team made a spectacular comeback in the standings. In the second half of the season, they were regularly the car most capable of competing with the RB19. McLaren is the most striking example to show what can be done once you understand the details, added Jody Egginton.
With its partnership with Red Bull, AlphaTauri could benefit from the expertise of the Austrian manufacturer, within the limits of the FIA regulations.
