Nano4k wrote: ↑11 Feb 2022, 22:43
can i predict the biggest airbox on grid for 2022? ^^
The 2021 Alpine fat airbox was just a temporary, unscheduled, last minute change, just like the 2021 rule changes. It was a compromised design, not an optimised one.
It didnt contain some advanced or clever new trick, it contained a very conventional centerline cooling system (at least layout-wise).
It was fat because the conventional cooling was shoehorned inside a 3 years old chassis that was specifically designed for a different cooling system*.
That's why it was fat.
*So the reasoning behind the Alpine A521 thick air box is simple:
- The FIA has decided to cut a portion of the floors in 2021 to reduce downforce.
--> Alpine has decided to slim down the sidepods to recover some floor surface and DF
--> to do so, they had to move a part of the cooling from the sidepods to the center of the car
--> problem nr1: they already had a cooling system in the center of the car. It was different from the other cars and was contained in a tight space above the engine. So Alpine couldn't really enlarge it.
--> so Alpine decided to move it to the back of the car, where there is more space, so in a very conventional position, similar to the other teams.
--> problem n°2: the original Renault cooling system was fed by the lower air intake of the chassis, while the turbo was fed by the upper air intake, the opposite of the other teams.
--> Alpine didn't want to modify its chassis, which was frozen since 2019, by reworking its structure and internal aero and by reversing the air intakes.
--> So Alpine had to split and spread out its turbo air duct in 2, so the new cooling air duct can pass in between. Hence the widening of the engine cover/roll hoop cover
--> Alpine took advantage of this widening and has put a wide central radiator in that space.
The 2022 cooling system will be completely different and tailored for the 2022 chassis, and vice versa, like the 18, 19, 20 cars, and unlike the 21 car.
