Difficult first day but with “better” for Alpine in Bahrain

We shouldn't have expected wonders this Friday with Alpine during the first two free practice sessions of the Bahrain Grand Prix. Good thing there wasn't one. The Blues expected to be tough, they had confirmation of this on the track with the 17^e and 18^e time in EL1 then the 16^e and 18^e in EL2 of Pierre Gasly et Esteban Ocon. A performance which only reflects the position in which the French team finds itself.

« We know very well that the start of the season will not be easy, recalled Bruno Famin at the microphone of Canal+. We are not where we would like to be. There are developments that will happen. Our car is completely new, and it arrived a little late. We expected to suffer, we suffered but between morning and afternoon things got better. Driver feedback is a little more positive. We gained traction. This is the beginning of the work and we know we have a lot of work.

To solve a problem, you must first clearly identify it. We probably have several. We have to win in all areas, the weight of the car, the handling, the traction... There are a lot of things to do and we're getting on with it.."

Soon developments for Alpine ?

The main team has confirmed, the A524 will receive its share of developments, already in preparation on the side ofenstone. But when ? Still according to our colleagues from the encrypted channel, the first introduction is set at the earliest for the Japanese Grand Prix (April 5-7), if not for the one in China two weeks later. A second salvo should then take place in Miami (May 3-5).

But for the moment, the head is not on the developments because Alpine must quickly find a series of answers to try to limit the damage. For this, the A arrow troops are racking their brains to provide short-term solutions.

« We have the benchmarks because we are starting to acquire data, real elements, continues Bruno Famin. Until last week, it was simulation, bench testing... This time, we have real data. We can correlate, realign in relation to our theoretical, calculated data, and this will allow us to move forward.

We know how to quantify our delay. We have GPS data which allows us to trace all the characteristics of the cars, whether acceleration, braking, energy recovery, speed of passage in slow and fast turns... We know how to reconstruct all of this to identify our strengths and weaknesses. This is what we need to work on. All the work lies between identifying a weakness and knowing how to resolve it. This is what we focus on."

If the time is not for joy on the side of Enstone and Viry-Châtillon, the leader of the French team does not intend to give up. As captain, Bruno Famin wants to show his men that they have the capacity to put the ship back afloat and that he is ready to lead it.

« In not easy situations like these in which we are behind, it is essential [to know how to mobilize and motivate teams], he emphasizes. This doesn't make anyone happy because everyone worked hard to have the cars ready on time last week so obviously we have to restart the machine. To get out of these problems, it is essential (to be mobilized) to be able to solve our problems, to produce developments, to improve ourselves, etc. We need each employee toAlpine, whether in Viry or Enstone, to put coal in the machine and send gas. » It couldn’t be clearer.

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