The biggest question facing Alpine now is how quickly the team can bounce back from a difficult start to the 2024 F1 campaign. Development of A524, which will be a challenge for the 2024 season, The team fell one step short and fell into chaos. Try to close the gap at the beginning of the year.
“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.”
The main problem? The car is overweight and Alpine needs to act quickly.
There may be room for optimism as the grid heads to Japan for the Japanese Grand Prix. The team is on track to have its best season in 2024, but that can be considered a relative term. Bahrain and Saudi Arabia saw Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon both start from last place, with Ocon managing to reach Q2 at the Australian Grand Prix.
Although he ended up finishing 16th and Gasly 13th, advancing to Q2 was a step forward for the team. There were other silver linings, with both drivers feeling they could have done a bit more in Melbourne.
“After the last race in Australia, we had mixed emotions. On the other hand, there were some positive signs that the car’s performance improved over the weekend and we were getting closer to the teams around us,” said the Japanese Grand Prix team. Ocon said in the preview. “On the other hand, I felt like I missed a bit of an opportunity because if it hadn’t been for the extra pit stop to remove the tear in the rear brake duct, I could have been in contention for points.” If I hadn’t stopped, I probably wouldn’t have made it to the end of the race.”
“In Australia we did the best we could from starting 17th to finishing 13th. At one point we were running 8th and hoping something would happen and we would benefit. What we can really do in a race That was it. At the moment we are far from fighting for points so we have to be patient until we can improve the car,” added Gasly. “I have full confidence in the team to continue to understand the package and unleash their performance to get back to where they should be in the championship. Everyone is doing their best and to improve the situation. We are working in a positive direction.”
What’s the next step in that progress? Upgrade to A524. The team is making initial improvements at Suzuka, but team principal Bruno Famin warns that progress may still be at a slow pace.
Famin said this is the “first phase of lightweighting” of the planned upgrades.
“We are looking forward to racing at the fast and flowing Suzuka Circuit. We are on schedule with the first updates to the A524, in line with our 2024 development plan. It is important that we add these elements as soon as possible in order to evaluate and continually improve our understanding of the package,” Fahmin said at the team’s Japanese Grand Prix media preview. “These updates mainly concern the new front wing and the first stage of weight reduction.”
However, Famin warns that the progress shown in Melbourne may simply be track-specific rather than real progress.
“In Australia we were able to fight closer to the points than in previous rounds. That being said, that was probably more due to the conditions and the specifics of the track than any improved performance. We are still far from that goal,” Fahmin added. “We are motivated to get things right both in the factory and on the track to improve our processes and the car. We have to fight tooth and nail to improve performance in all areas. not.”
Alpine, along with the rest of the grid, will get a first crack at the ‘fast and flowing Suzuka circuit’ later this week.
