After the experience of Baku, several teams fear that the extreme rigidity of this year’s cars is excessive in a circuit as bumpy as Montreal. However, neither Fernando Alonso nor Alpine are concerned about it.
The Azerbaijan Grand Prix highlighted the problem that Formula 1 has with this year’s cars, which they have gained in rigidity and have brought back porpoisingan oscillation typical of single-seaters with ground effect.
However, not all teams suffer the same. And, while Mercedes, Ferrari or AlphaTauri are in trouble at certain circuits, others like Alfa Romeo or Alpine they are not worried at all.
“We need to better understand our car and why we are experiencing differences between Friday and Sunday”
Therefore, in the days prior to the celebration of the Canadian Grand Prixthe Anglo-French line-up is confident of completing a good weekend on a fast and bumpy circuit that threatens to make life difficult for several teams and drivers on the grid.
Downforce and rebound
Pat FryAlpine’s technical director, has spoken about it, as well as the team’s plan for Montreal’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
“The cars of 2022 roll quite low and there will always be some touches on the ground, but it’s not a big problem for us”says the British engineer, who then talks about what he hopes to find on the Canadian circuit after two years off the calendar.
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“We can expect the circuit to be a bit green and dirty during the first session but, as we have seen in the past in Montreal, it will stop being a problem pretty quickly with some rubber,” says Pat Fry.
“We have the softest tires in the Pirelli range, so being aware of the conditions and gaining knowledge about tires will certainly be a priority on the program checklist.
“Compared to the last race in Baku, we can expect a slightly higher level of downforce for this weekend,” notes Fry. «We’ll go up a notch on the rear wing and have a few options of beam wing to identify the optimum downforce setting.
“The nature of the track in Montreal leads to more downforce as there are some straights combined with a variety of low to medium speed corners. Montreal has very similar power unit sensitivity to Baku and it is usually very hard on the brakes, ”he recalls.
A track record to be proud of
Fernando Alonsomeanwhile, isn’t worried about the potential bounce either, and believes it will be more important to understand why the Alpine A522 tends to be quicker in practice than in the race.
“We still need to better understand our car and why we are experiencing differences between Friday and Sunday. It’s pretty good at managing the rebound effect of this year’s cars. I didn’t feel it too much in Baku and we were more focused on managing tire degradation, especially the rear tyres”, he recalls.
But, regardless of that, Fernando Alonso feels a deep pride for having become the driver with the longest career in Formula 1.
“I am happy to have achieved this milestone in Formula 1. I think that 21 years at the top of any sport, be it motorsport, basketball or any other, is a great achievement,” admits Alonso. “It takes a lot of passion, discipline, and sacrifice over the years, but it’s all worth it.”. I’m happy to have achieved this and there is more to come!”
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Photos: Alpine F1 Team