Alpine A524

[Blackout]

Ok thanks.
So the same treatment that is given to the sidepods top, (trenches, bulges, fences etc) has been applied to the sidepods bottom to manage those airflows : )

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GF5QrpHWMAA ... name=large

[Blackout]

I wonder what Harmann means with "we integrated the tail pipe into the suspension carrier around the transmission, basically to straighten it..."

I get what he means with the straightening, especially with the 2023 exhaust pipe which was very curved and had to make a big jump to circumvent the new inboard pushrod elements that mainly sat above the casing... but all tail pipes* since 2014 were already "integrated into the suspension carrier around the transmission" and passed inside a U shaped bay inside the gbox...

So I wonder what else Alpine did to better integrate this pipe / straighten it...

Did they rearrange the inboard suspensions, or even put them inside the casing like older gearboxes..?

Or maybe Alpine made the 2024 pipe pass underneath the inboard suspension, instead of above, using the 2015 Ferrari-style tunnel instead of the classic U bay/niche

*except one or 2 gboxes.







2023 pipe:

Very exposed rear-end from AMuS - is this the first we see of these internal metal struts from Alpine (that presumably support the floor)? @Blackout We've seen similar feature on RB18/RB19 and Mercedes W14

[Blackout]

I think this pic of the RB casing might answer the question... the 2024 pipe probably passes underneath the new suspension assembly, instead of overlapping it, just like this...

[wiktor977]

Hard to say if it's "just" a boundary layer separator or an actual (S) duct, but it's there.

The team didn't really do much, if anything, for pressure recovery on the engine cover and the whole rear end. What's more, those sidepods are quite wide and have a modest undercut. The nose is quite wide as well. Not looking good for their top speed performance.

During the presentation Matt Harman said that they acknowledged lack of performance concerning downforce to drag correlation. They are focused on rear wing optimalization for each race to find the best balance. Interesting that he didn't said anything about the beam wing.

[Blackout]

What Harman said about the new internal bodywork and the need "to stop cooling the exhaust" is interesting and a bit strange too...

I thought the manifolds are already well insulated thanks to their heat shielding that help them retain all their heat and energy for the turbine, so they dont need further insulation, and that's why they are not fully covered in most of these cars that sport big internal aero bodyworks...

Or teams do cool them down a bit, hence they are exposed in most cars?

Or do these exhausts still reject some heat that is used by the teams to energize the sidepod exit air a bit?

*on the '22 Mclaren (top), the exhaust area seems to be completely insulated from the radiator exit air thanks to the internal aero fairing that guides it directly towards the exit.

Anyway it must be a challenge to incorporate an internal bodywork that can insulate the manifolds from the rest inside the Alpine, due to its deep water slides...

Do you have pictures of the '23 MCL and AM internal bodywork?

Pics from Fabrega, AMuS, Piola

[LeveragedTiger]

Hard to say if it's "just" a boundary layer separator or an actual (S) duct, but it's there.

The team didn't really do much, if anything, for pressure recovery on the engine cover and the whole rear end. What's more, those sidepods are quite wide and have a modest undercut. The nose is quite wide as well. Not looking good for their top speed performance.

Hello there, hidden sidepod tunnel. Or should we call it under-undercut

Well, that's another way to separate airflow Good to see at least some innovation.

Interesting to see some knurling (highlighted by green circle) of the carbon fibre to feed the sidepod tunnel as well:

[Henk_v]

It is quite obvious there is no s-duct. Over the past two years we've seen many attempts to deal with the losses /boundary. Sauber with the bulge on the front suspension, Mercedes with the turning vanes.

This seems quite elegant, while on the other hand it seems quite radical for something that is apparently minor for others.

[KimiRai]

Do you have pictures of the '23 MCL and AM internal bodywork?

Not sure if these will help but here are some from the AMR23

[f1316]

I wonder if the wider, flatter nose is literally for more downforce creation at the front. I recall on the Ferrari F2001, when they brought in the raised front wing assembly to reduce front downforce, they intentionally dropped the nose (vs the prior year’s high nose) to compensate. This is obviously much less dramatic but it occurs to me that producing another wide, flat surface may be a way to add small gains without compromising the front wing’s job of turning air.

[Blackout]

No internal bodywork there @KimiRai, but the pics are useful, thanks

-

I wonder if the wider, flatter nose is literally for more downforce creation at the front. I recall on the Ferrari F2001, when they brought in the raised front wing assembly to reduce front downforce, they intentionally dropped the nose (vs the prior year’s high nose) to compensate. This is obviously much less dramatic but it occurs to me that producing another wide, flat surface may be a way to add small gains without compromising the front wing’s job of turning air.

Yes IMO it's a cheap way to produce DF well forward of the car thanks to that big, upward & flat surface, so it could also be a good way to keep the FW flat, with a small chord and a small area, as Alpine likes them since 2022, so they can give more air to the rest of the car, especially the bottom part & underbody...

That seems to be their philosophy since 2022: the FW must remain as "small" as possible...

And I wonder if this wide nose cone will generate more ground effect at the center, having a bigger surface near the ground, in the center of the main and second plane

But I wonder how that big high pressure area on the front of the nose will affect the nearby front wing areas ?

2022 nose - AMuS

[Blackout]

BTW a CFD image of the 2006 Renault: look at the high pressure area on the nosecone top surface. And this is before they replace it with a wider nosecone during the season, like Mclaren in 2004 > 2005

[MtthsMlw]

Closer view I found on Twitter

@jh0nny07

[K1Plus]

Closer view I found on Twitter
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GF-d39sakAA ... &name=orig
@jh0nny07

They look like McLaren L shaped2011 sidepods, albeit inverted and mixed with a RB19 style letterbox.

[Theeoo]

Closer view I found on Twitter
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GF-d39sakAA ... &name=orig
@jh0nny07

its looks like this piece is made of plastic, probably won't be like that for the tests

[Blackout]

Yes. The sidepod leading flancs actually got chunkier: the flancs have been extended sideways then extruded downwards to manage the dirty lateral flow & the clean undercut flow at the same time.
The aero of this era is alot about extruding and sculpting big volumes, which is nice IMO.

It seems the undercut has mainly been trimmed upwards (green) but not sideways.