Alpine, in search of solutions for Alonso: "It has been a frustrating day"

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Shortly before noon this Friday, just two hours after the breakdown that ruined his day,

paraded through the Montmeló

in street clothes.

By then it was already clear that he would not get back in the car until the next test in Bahrain, starting on March 10.

His severe gesture, although not grumpy, had certain similarities with the one he had shown the day before, during the official FIA press conference.

Around him, the murmurs of engineers and higher-ups recorded the climate of concern in Alpine.

Restlessness, not panic.

In the huddles, near the team truck,

, promoted to chief technical officer a few weeks ago, could be seen sharing a coffee with

, sporting director.

, top leader of the expedition, waited in the shade while the mechanics completely disassembled the car in the garage.

After three hours of work, the French team confirmed that it was a hydraulic failure.

On the downside, good news, since this system is not subject to engine development freeze.

The plan comes into force from March 1 and will be maintained until 2026, no less. So that the engineers at the Enstone factory will have enough time to solve everything before the start of the World Cup, on March 20 in the Bahrain GP.

How and when to open the tap

However, under the dense curtain of smoke that sprouted from the A522's chimney, other efforts are hidden.

The most obvious -although shorter- has been giving up seven hours on the Montmeló test bench, including the afternoon session on wet tyres.

And the most complex -which requires a firm hand- will affect the precision with which to open the tap of the horses.

Even considering its hydraulic origin and its fatal effect on the gearbox to be valid, Alonso's breakdown came after accumulating 1,200 kilometers in Montmeló.

Not even half of what in the past World Cup was estimated as the useful life of a power unit.

website

, the only official ones in Alpine throughout the day.

“We haven't pushed very hard, but at least we did find the correct correlation between the data from the wind tunnel and the track,” added the Briton.

An evolution of the speech repeated throughout Wednesday and Thursday, where reliability was emphasized as a fundamental element during the first stages of the new project.

Always the most delicate.

To lay these foundations, the new technical director,

, opted for very conservative configurations in the engine map.

After so many months of effort at the Viry-Chatillon factory, where they have worked tirelessly on this RE22 model, it was time to transfer the simulations to the asphalt.

However, everything was halfway.

We will have to wait for the next tests to evaluate the true power of the power unit.

Not only in the verve of that V6's horsepower, but in its energy recovery system (ERS).

Supply to one

At this point it should be noted that - while Mercedes distributes its engines among four teams, Ferrari between three and Honda between two - Renault only supplies its product to Alpine.

So any unexpected stumble makes it difficult to find the right path.

Of course, the image of that burning car at turn 13 brought to mind Alonso's darkest moments with those Honda engines that ruined McLaren's preseason tests in 2015 and 2017. Of course, in the Alpine environment nobody wants to hear about of something like that.

As if that were not enough, at the aerodynamic level, Alpine has been dragging various setbacks that prevented the use of the DRS on the finish straight.

A headache shared by some rivals, although in the French case the matter seems to be a priority.

Perhaps for this reason, Fry was quick to announce that they already have "improvements" for the Bahrain tests and for the start of the World Cup.

"There is a good package that will be available at the beginning of the year and it will be the result of the wind tunnel investigation," stressed the technical chief.

Adjusting this type of solution at the right time, always depending on the budget limit, will become another of the keys to the World Cup.

Because Alpine cannot settle for another fifth place in the constructors' championship.

Far from podiums and victories, Alonso does not conceive of a future in F1 either.

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