Following three days of pre-season testing, all 10 F1 teams are now hard at work analyzing all the data, hoping to make the most of their knowledge base ahead of next weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix.
Who’s on that team? Takayama. There is reason to believe the team has taken a step forward with the A524, but it remains difficult to truly introduce the A524 after a season in which the team had to appeal to F1 for a reprieve due to a faulty power unit. Pre-season F1 pecking order.
However, in their own words, the team expects the 2024 campaign to be a “challenging” start.
“Now it’s time to analyze the data and focus on optimizing the package we have for the first Grand Prix next week. We know where we stand,” said the team. President Bruno Famin said in the Alpine post-test media report. “We anticipate a difficult start to the year as we continue to learn more about the A524 as we develop it throughout the season.”
Over the three-day test, drivers Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly completed a combined 334 laps, with minimal reliability issues. Gasly had a red flag on the second day of testing and then missed some testing time on the third day due to a loose wheel blow. Still, for now, he seems to have no problem with the A524’s reliability.
Also on the positive side, both drivers posted faster lap times than they had a season ago. Of course, the standard caveats about reading too much into lap times during testing apply, but Gasly set the best time. 1:32.149 On the final day of this year’s test, he beat the 1:32.762 he recorded a year ago. As for Ocon, his 1:33.079 on Thursday beat his best time of 1:33.257 from a year ago.
Both drivers seemed to have grown a little more confident as the three days drew to a close.
“Overall, it was a productive three-day test for us and probably one of the strongest tests of my time with the team. Since jumping in the car, everything has been great from day one. It was perfect and it was performing well from an operational standpoint,” Ocon said. “The car is working reliably and we managed to complete the test program. We improved the car and made progress from the first day to the last.
“But we have a lot of work to do and it will be interesting to look at all the data and understand where we can improve. Three days of testing is short for a new car, so our package There is still a lot to learn and draw from. Thank you to all the teams at Enstone and Willy for working long hours over the winter. Now it’s time to go racing.”
It was a “fulfilling” three days for Gasly.
“We’ve done a lot of testing this week, but we’re approaching an important week where we’ll be looking at all the data and continuing to understand the concept of this new car,” Gasly said. “It’s important to learn about the whole package and understand how to optimize it.
“For me it was very tricky at times, especially as I missed some runs both yesterday and today. On the second day unfortunately there was a red flag, but this afternoon a wheel blow came off the car. I came off and ended up missing a few laps at the end. Still, these three days have been a productive test for the team and that’s the most important thing. I’m really excited for my first race.”
As for Famine, he has officially assumed the role of team principal this season after serving as team principal on a temporary basis a year ago, and although the start of the season may be difficult, he has shown confidence in the team this week from A524. Sex is big. It’s definitely positive.
“It was a solid three days of testing for the team, focusing on ourselves and undertaking comprehensive and important testing.” [program]” Famine pointed out. “We have been strong operationally all week, showing great teamwork between both factories and trackside teams, which was good to see. It was completed as expected.”
This is definitely an important season for Alpine. They hope to enjoy some stability and reliability after a tumultuous 2023 season. The biggest question facing the team is whether they can take a step forward with the A524 and avoid the lack of power that held it back a year ago.
Hopefully the reliability and improvement in lap times they saw this week from a year ago is a sign of good things to come, even after a tough start to the year.
