Targeting a performance breakthrough, the French team has taken a comprehensively aggressive approach to its new car’s design
JAKE BOXALL-LEGGE
POWERTRAIN
Although the power units are largely homologated – and Renault has long since diverted its focus onto the 2026 powertrain regulations – the team has made some changes in terms of packaging its components. “There are a number of things that we can do to make sure that we installed the power unit well into the car,” said Alpine technical director Matt Harman. “We’ve integrated the tailpipe around the transmission to reduce the pressure drop across that, making sure that every single bit of work done by the power unit is delivered at the crankshaft, and therefore the rear wheels. We’ve also moved the ERS unit and the battery pack rearwards, to help us with that weight distribution of the car.”
SIDEPODS
Although similar in form to last season’s, the sidepods have a more noticeable undercut to them to increase the airflow transit over the floor area and reduce its overall path. The channels along the top surface remain, assisting the passage of air being collected from the upper areas to be directed to the floor. A small underbite is present on the inlets, albeit not as dramatic as others seen thus far over the 2024 launch season.
CHASSIS
Alpine produced an entirely new chassis for 2024, citing the need to be more aggressive across all facets: aerodynamics, packaging, and structures inside have all been improved. Pierre Gasly had noted last season that he hoped for a smaller cockpit, joking that Esteban Ocon’s lankier frame might not be so conducive to this, but the team has attempted to work around its drivers and optimise the overall geometry. The air intake is noticeably squarer compared to last season’s, using a larger inlet to ensure the sidepod apertures can be smaller.
SUSPENSION
The team has retained the pushrod-front,
