Why Alpine’s low-drag F1 updates should pay off in the short term

This is because of a run of tracks with medium/low downforce characteristics, so the updates are expected to pay out over the course of the next few races.

The most substantial change comes around the car’s midriff, as the team has redesigned the forward section of the sidepod. This will not only have an impact on cooling, given the now squarer inlet shape, it also has several aerodynamic consequences.

In order to achieve this redesign, the team increased the length of the…