Alpine F1 undergoes further development and weight reduction in China

Alpine has a spare chassis for the first time this season, its A524 arrives in China improved and lighter, allowing Esteban Ocon’s previous car to be used as a spare chassis in case of an accident. Alpine had no fallback solution in case of problems in the first 4 races. The French manufacturer accelerated the improvement of the floor for this weekend’s race in Shanghai, in order to bring more performance after a difficult start to the year. Originally, the upgrade was supposed to wait until the next Grand Prix.

It will be used exclusively by Esteban Ocon this time, before the two drivers have it for the next race in Miami. It should be noted that the revised chassis on which the parts are mounted is not only lighter than the version the team has used so far, but Alpine’s performance technical director, Ciaron Pilbeam, also explained that « this is the first race with a third chassis here. »

Alpine has reduced the weight of this car by 4 kg compared to its predecessor. The French team is one of the only ones not to have reached the minimum weight allowed by the FIA on its single-seater. The team has exceeded the minimum weight limit since the beginning of the year after failing some of the FIA crash tests and hurriedly reinforced its structure. The points deficit is still about 2 kg from the minimum weight. Each kilogram can cost up to 3 tenths. It is therefore as much performance regained.

The team was not yet where it wanted to be this morning during the free practice sessions nor during the sprint qualifying, with Ocon and Gasly being eliminated in Q1. Pilbeam estimated that it wouldn’t be long before reaching his weight target: “We’re almost there and we will be there by the next one or two races. It’s a program we had already set up before the first race, and it’s not just one thing, it’s just many small reductions that will allow us to achieve it.”

« I don’t want to go into too many details, but we will soon be satisfied, in order to have a little more flexibility while pushing the limits further. I think we largely understand where our issues are, and it’s probably in the low-speed corners. This evolution and what will happen later will improve the overall performance.

Pierre Gasly upset

Pierre Gasly, on the other hand, encountered a new problem with his engine during free practice this morning, forcing a change of power unit between the practice session and qualifying.

(P) “This is not acceptable, we haven’t learned anything,” lamented Pierre Gasly on the radio. The driver had to stay in his box for a good part of the session due to an electrical insulation problem on his Alpine’s engine.