Pre-season testing has ended with quite a few teams failing to keep up with the pace. Aerodynamic changes have taken a toll and Alpine is the first to admit that it will have a long year ahead unless it can get some serious upgrades over the course of the season.
The rebranded constructors were anything but smooth during F1 testing in Bahrain and had a disappointing three days.
There was so much optimism surrounding the team ahead of the season, and all of that seems to have dissipated rather quickly.
Alpine executive director Marcin Budkowski believes that the new aerodynamic regulations introduced by FIA has led to a significantly detrimental impact for his team.
He clarified that Alpine is not the only team that will feel the effects of this.
Speaking to RacingNews365, Budkowski spoke about his team’s time in Bahrain.
“We, as every team, lost a chunk compared to last year due to the changes on the back of the car,” Budkowski said.
“Everybody’s been quite busy recovering it. And we can’t tell yet where we’ve ended up exactly. But everybody looks at recovering all of it, or most of it.
“We lost over a second a lap to start with, and then obviously, recovering and recovering and recovering.”
Based on this, it appears like teams still have a lot to iron out as they look to come to terms with the latest regulations.
Where do you think Alpine will find itself this season? Is pre-season testing form a good indicator of where they will end this season?
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