Alpine will bring the first upgrades for their overweight A524 chassis to this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix.
In addition to weight-saving changes the team will also bring aerodynamic refinements for their latest car, which is yet to score a point this season.
Team principal Bruno Famin said they “are on schedule to make the first updates to the A524” this weekend. “Although they are not major, it is important for us to add these elements as soon as we can so we can assess the potential and continually improve our understanding of our package.
“These updates mainly concern a new front wing as well as the first step of weight reduction.”
The team saw a slight improvement in performance at the Australian Grand Prix where Esteban Ocon became the first of its drivers to reach Q2 this year. “We were able to fight closer to the points than in previous rounds,” Famin acknowledged.
“That said, that was likely down to circumstance and track specifics rather than an improvement in performance. And it is still a long way from our objective.”
Alpine need to “fight tooth and nail to better our performance in all areas,” he added.
The team also confirmed it will switch to its “predominantly blue livery” from this weekend’s race, having run its alternative pink colour scheme at the opening rounds. However both versions use significantly less paint than last year, in order to reduce weight.
Ocon finished 16th, three places behind his team mate, but was forced to make an unscheduled visit to the pits during the race.
“There were promising signs with the car showing better performance across the weekend as a whole and being closer to the teams around us,” said Ocon. “[But] it felt like a bit of a missed opportunity as, without the extra pit stop to remove the tear-off from the rear brake duct, we could have been in the mix for points.”
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2024 Japanese Grand Prix
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