Alpine reveals A523 F1 challenger for 2023 | GRR
Alpine was the last to launch its F1 challenger for 2023, with the A523 breaking cover yesterday evening (16th Feburary). The A523 has a winter of design and reliability refinements behind it and the team seems confident for what it hopes to be a more convincingly successful season.
Aerodynamically and in terms of suspension, the A523 is quite different from last year’s car. A new splitter concept does away with the width-spanning lower wing, while the nose cone has a flatter surface.
There’s a more compact sidepod – downward-flowing but featuring a gulley on the inside to guide airflow rearward – owing to smaller, more lightweight cooling hardware within. Technical Director Matt Harman has said this will be a crucial area of aggressive development throughout 2023. At the rear, the cannon cooling exits are now much larger, as has been seen on a number of cars for 2023.
Looking at the suspension more closely, there’s been a decent shake-up, with the rear end moving from pull- to push-rod design, with an emphasis on weight-saving and airflow. Up front it’s less a complete change of concept and more a calibration change, with a Red Bull-style dive-friendly wishbone placement, featuring a lower rear mount point. The changes were also aero-driven, to control the flow towards the rear.
Alpine’s biggest challenge this year however is to get its car to perform reliably. A number of hiccups last year proved to be a massive frustration for the team and especially its drivers, Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso – the latter obviously having moved to Aston Martin for 2023, being replaced by Piere Gasly who comes from Alpha Tauri. This has been the team’s main goal over the winter – getting it to deliver what was decent performance last year, reliably.
As above, the cooling system overall is smaller and more efficient for its mass and the space it takes up. Plenum temperature is down, meaning the air getting into the engine will be cooler, which should result in an increase in performance.
The livery is much of the same. The distinctive blue and pink hue remains, with full pink cars set to run at the opening three Grands Prix of the season, in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Australia.
There was a feeling of optimism at the car’s launch, with the team sounding very much like their genuine belief is that their hard work has paid off, to create a higher-performing, more reliable car that’s going to be aggressively developed this year in the fight for occasional podium places and even race wins. The proof, however, will be in the pudding.
“For 2023, the aim is simple: at a minimum, we must finish in fourth and in a much more convincing fashion,” said Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer.
“By that, it means, more finishes, more points and less unforced retirements. I have high expectations from everyone in the team – not least Esteban and Pierre – who will work collaboratively to deliver the best possible results for the team.”