While the Qatar Grand Prix is the penultimate round of the F1 World Championship, Alpine did not hesitate to touch up its car. Explanations in pictures.
In Qatar, only two Formula 1 teams have introduced new features: Sauber and Alpine. The French team, which is in sixth place in the World Constructors' Championship standings, has modified the front of its car.
First of all, it is the front wing which has been retouched: like most F1 cars (McLaren, Ferrari, Red Bull), the main plane is now detached from the nose. All surfaces have been reworked to provide better airflow control.
Shortened nose on the Alpine
As for the nose, “plus court” (as can be seen above in an image taken by our colleague Albert Fabrega), it has been redesigned to be “compatible with the new geometry of the front wing and its first detached element, which allows interaction, thus providing a healthier interaction between the different air flows”according to the team.
Image Fabrega
Centerpiece of an F1
The front wing is perhaps the most important element of a Formula 1 car. Even though it only generates 20% to 30% of the total downforce, it is the first surface that the air encounters and, as such, conditions all the flow which flows to the rest of the car.
Contrary to general belief, a front wing is not only used to generate downforce. It has several functions, as summarized by Bob Bell, a former Enstone employee who has now moved to Aston Martin:
“One, he seeks to effectively generate support. Two, it allows the car's center of pressure to be located in the right place. Three, it is drawn such that the wake of turbulent air created behind it [par la roue] has minimal impact on the rest of the car. To be more precise, the front wing spreads the turbulent air generated on the sides of the wheels so that it does not disturb the rest of the car.
Risk of turbulence
On the Qatari circuit, the F1 cars drive at very high speed, which generates major turbulence and disrupts the cars following, as Pierre Gasly explains:
“The Losail international circuit is a fast and flowing track, on which I really enjoy driving. The long main straight offers overtaking opportunities, but it can be difficult to follow the cars through the high-speed corners for the remainder of the lap.”
The new nose should bring improvements and confirm research directions for the future A525.
