Only in the sixth stage of the 2024 championship of Formula 1The Alpine managed to reduce the weight of the cars, which were outside the limit. The team based in Enstone got off to a tumultuous start in 2024 as the A524 it was initially off the pace and without downforce, after the change of concept.
With extra weight in the body – which was added to pass a specific crash test – and with lower engine power than the units Honda, Mercedes It is Ferrari with engine Renault which Alpine uses, the team faced difficulties in the initial races and did not even score a point. They are one of the three teams that have not yet scored, alongside Williams and from Sauber.
In the last stage, in the ChinaAlpine introduced an upgrade to the floor, which also brought the A524 closer to the F1 minimum weight limit, but was still “almost there”, according to the team’s technical director, Ciaron Pilbeam.
Now, with the floor upgrade applied to the car Pierre Gasly in Miami, after having only driven on the A524 from Esteban Ocon in Shanghai, the team’s additional effort to save weight on new parts means it is finally back to target weight.
The Alpine team boss, Bruno Faminstated that “we weren’t particularly overweight” at the start of the year with the A524, but confirmed that the new weight saving meant, in terms of pace gain, “a matter of 0.2s”.
“The fight is so fierce now that every gain, every little gain, is a good thing to do and that’s what we’re doing,” Famin told Motorsport.com in an exclusive interview at the Miami race.
“The weight – people talk a lot about the car being overweight – wasn’t the main problem with the car. The main problem with the car is that we lacked downforce and we had difficulties getting the tires to work in qualifying.”
“It is better to achieve the minimum weight, but that was not the main problem. This problem was resolved faster than expected and I am happy with the team management, who are trying hard to do everything quickly.”
“In Shanghai we had the new floor, we were only supposed to have the new floor here in Miami, but we got it with the guys at the factory scrambling to make one for Shanghai. It’s a good sign, but it’s a small part of the gap we need to fill. And that will take time.”, he explained.
Alpine A524 detail
Photo by: Filip Cleeren
When asked about Alpine’s plan to bounce back up the F1 hierarchy – having moved to a three-pillar technical department structure in the early stages of the season, which is now being led by new technical director David Sanchez, after McLaren’s surprising early exit – Famin said: “Part of the plan is being implemented because we know the car was a little overweight at the start of the season.
“Now, here for the first time and faster than planned and scheduled, we will have both cars with the minimum weight. We brought two updates in the aerodynamic part [nesta temporada]. But we know that all of this is just part of what we need to do.”
“Now, with the new organization in place, with David’s arrival yesterday, we will move on to the next stage. For now, it’s a little early to talk about it,” he said.
Speaking in Miami on Thursday, Ocon said the A524’s handling was “clearly better with the [perda] of weight”.
“We clearly got a good performance out of it,” he added.
“In terms of the rest, obviously it was a small step in the right direction. That’s very clear, but we know it’s still not enough. We’re managing to fight a little more closely with the other cars. But we’re still lacking performance in qualifying .
“And this is still the point where we need to work and concentrate on the overall performance of the car.”, he concluded.
Alpine A524 detail
Photo by: Filip Cleeren
See DEBATE on QUALI for the MIAMI F1 GP | Q4
