Alpine F1 Homologation Strategy

Alpine F1‘s initial failure and subsequent pass in homologation tests reveal a strategy of pushing technical boundaries for the A524 season.

Alpine F1 initially failed its homologation tests before successfully passing them for the upcoming season with its A524. Bruno Famin, the team’s principal, asserts that these failures actually demonstrate the team’s willingness to take risks and push the limits of what’s technically possible.

“We had to redo some tests, the homologation tests,” Famin stated. “But I believe this is a normal process. If you pass all the tests on the first try, it means you weren’t ambitious enough. So, we’ll see what the final result is, but having to redo some tests is not at all a criticism.”

However, the Frenchman assures that Alpine did not take reckless risks: “There’s no gamble. We’ve worked hard to develop a completely new car. Everything that could be changed according to the regulations, we changed.”

“This was for two reasons: the first is that we’ve learned from the past, of course, we’ve learned about aerodynamics, we’ve learned about the tires, we’ve learned about tire performance and tire degradation, of course.”

Famin acknowledges that Alpine must make quick progress to be in the right part of the standings and not affect the 2026 program, which will start this year: “The second reason is that we’re not alone, but the brand new 2026 regulations will arrive in the middle of 2024.”

“I think we’ll need a lot of resources to start working on the 2026 project early in the season, and the 2025 car might just be a slight evolution of the 2024 car.”

“It was important to make a big step for 2024. We’ll see how quickly that happens. There are a lot of new things, and we still don’t know where we’ll be on the grid. What will be important is our ability to develop the car throughout the season.”

Alpine F1 Homologation Strategy. Alpine F1 Homologation Strategy