Pat Fry, technical director of the Alpine F1 Team, said the team was aware of the A522’s “porpoising” and solved the problem on Filming Day.
The Alpine F1 Team performed a shakedown the day before the start of the F1 pre-season session at the Catalunya circuit in Barcelona, following showing off in the new blue and pink colors of the 2022 F1 machine “A522”.
The “porpoising” problem of vibration on the straight has been proven in various new cars with the aerodynamics of the ground effect effect over the three days of the F1 Barcelona test.
However, the Alpine F1 Team said they recognized and dealt with the porpoising phenomenon when they first ran the A522 on Filming Day, which was subject to a 100km distance limit.
But following Fernando Alonso stopped off the track early on Friday with white smoke from his car, the team’s action was cut off early, making it far from a trouble-free week for the Alpine F1 Team. ..
“During the test, there was no surprise regarding the car’s reaction on the truck,” Pat Fry told reporters in Barcelona.
“There were some surprises in the bumping phenomenon we solved on Filming Day. I saw it affected everyone. We need to fix the tire behavior, but that’s not a big deal.”
“It’s regarding finding the right aerodynamic balance for the car. You don’t have to overstress your aerodynamics,” Pat Fry explained regarding how the Alpine F1 Team overcame the “porpoising phenomenon.”
“It’s not always easy. You have to compromise between what you can achieve at maximum speed on a straight and what you can achieve on a fast corner.”
The Alpine F1 Team is one of the least affected teams of the “porpoising” alongside McLaren, and McLaren’s technical director James Key has far more than a quarter in the 2022 season. I think it will be solved for the whole grid before.
“It’s a problem because it’s so visible, but you’ll see a setup and aerodynamic development solution to understand how to manage it,” said James Key.
“I think there will be little talk regarding it following the first 5-6 races.
“Being a ground effect car, there is always some reaction to the ground effect effect. It’s just physics and I don’t think this phenomenon can be completely eliminated, but following some development work, problems and issues. Will be significantly less. ”
Category: Category: F1 / Alpine
