Red Bull and Ferrari items inspire Alpine F1 upgrades

Not only did applying the improvements to the package offer a relatively good boost in performance, but it was also studying and applying its competitors’ solutions when it felt they could help.

For Silverstone, we’re seeing more evidence of that, as the team has made revisions to the floor, sidewalls and hood.

Unsurprisingly, it is the side frame and bonnet that have received the most attention, as we can see how the team not only took inspiration from Ferrari but by chance moved towards the ‘top rack’ arrangement which we saw Red Bull adopt as well this weekend.

This is key, given their common use of a very similar sidepod solution.

At the front of the sidepod, undercutting has been increased, with the team wrapping the bodywork more tightly for components than before.

The top of the side structure has also taken over a bathtub-like crevice in the upper deck that Ferrari has used with the F1-75 since the start of the season.

And like the Ferrari, there are also oceanic cooling gills placed inside the roof not only to help reject heat generated but also to aid in aerodynamics.

The A522 now has a higher rounded shoulder which creates a shelf for airflow to follow as it appears behind the halo.

It’s a solution that in some ways already existed, but has been amplified to improve the relationship with the aforementioned upper lateral notch.

This rack, while much more straightforward than the old spec, more or less follows the path we’ve seen AlphaTauri tread since the start of the season.

In the case of Alpine, this flattened the team and raised the port to take advantage of the new beam wing design, which arrived in Azerbaijan.

Alpine has also made changes to its floor, most of which seem to focus on delivering performance from its underside and tunnels.

This means that unless we see a mechanic carrying one into the garage or one of his cars ending up on a winch or a lowered loader, we may have to wait until a future race to get a better idea of ​​where it’s headed here.

However, what we can see from the outside is that there are definitely some improvements going on in the rear corner and diffuser transition.

This is noted by the previous kick as the diffuser went up (red arrow, below), which also constituted a change in geometry afterwards.

Meanwhile, the shape of the cap on the trailing edge of the floor in front of the rear tire has also been modified.

The mouse-house-like orifice in the sidewall of the diffuser was also altered in an attempt to alter the intensity of the flow structures in that area, which is particularly important when considering factors such as tire squirt and vortex formed in the outer section of the diffuser.

Interestingly, there is also a small depression in the lateral slope slope (green arrow) which probably only helps to modulate the path that the airflow takes in this region.

Notably, the metalwork that was installed into the floor edge on the A522 was also increased for this event, indicating that the team expects higher loads and possibly greater interaction with the track surface.

Alpine A522 rear end detail

Image source: Uncredited