Alpine takes bold approach with all-new 2024 F1 car

Alpine ended last season sixth overall, dropping from fourth the previous year, with French drivers Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly.

BWT Alpine Racing Endurance A424 racing car during the Alpine team’s 2024 season launch. | Photo Credit: AFP

Renault-owned Alpine said it had changed almost everything bar the steering wheel as it became the first Formula One team to roll out its new 2024 car, rather than just presenting a livery or digital rendering, on Wednesday.

Alpine ended last season sixth overall, dropping from fourth the previous year, with French drivers Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly.

The team will again race with two distinct liveries this season, with the A524 car predominantly pink for the opening eight races to reflect the colours of sponsor BWT before reverting to Alpine’s familiar blue.

“We decided to take a very bold approach, it’s a brand new car from front to back. I think only the steering wheel survived,” said technical director Matt Harman in a launch presentation at the team’s Enstone factory.

“We’ve really tried to look at every single area of the car to make sure that we leave no stone unturned, and we give ourselves a car that could have potential through the year.”

Team principal Bruno Famin, who took over last year, said everything had to improve.

“We have an idea of where we think we are compared to last year but we have no clue about where are the competitors,” he said.

Alpine’s Renault engine is at a 20-30 horsepower disadvantage to rivals, according to the governing FIA, with development frozen until 2026 when a new power unit is introduced.

Famin said there was still plenty of scope to find performance on the chassis side.

“The pure ICE (engine) is a bit down, we know why,” he said. “The FIA made it public. But at the end of the race, it’s not the engine and not the chassis that scores points but the car.

“The engine is what it is...a lot of things are frozen but we can also work on the integration, on the software, on the cooling. We are working on all of that...at the end of the story, what we need is a good car whatever the engine.

“We have to improve the engine but we have to improve the chassis, the aero, our understanding of the tyre. Everything. It’s all together we need to improve.”

The sportscar maker launched its world endurance programme at the same time, with the two cars parked together and Germany’s Mick Schumacher -- also a Mercedes F1 reserve driver -- joining the lineup.