Formula 1 will look very different this season.
Not only is there a new team on the grid in Cadillac, but the sport is undergoing the biggest set of technical changes in the history of F1. The new rules, aimed at improving the racing spectacle, have made the cars smaller, lighter, and more agile, and feature new elements such as active aerodynamics, with movable front and rear wings replacing the previous Drag Reduction System.
These changes have given all 11 teams room to bring some new elements to the track, and on the first day of pre-season testing we were given the chance to see one such interpretation in action.
The new rear wing from Alpine.
In this quick clip from the official F1 channel, you can see the tweak that Alpine has made ahead of this season. Instead of the two rear wing flaps separating, as you see on the Haas VF-26, the back element of the rear wing on the Alpine A526 simply drops down:
Will it work? That remains to be seen. But while times from pre-season testing are always to be taken with a grain of salt, Pierre Gasly posted the eighth-fastest time during the first day in Bahrain:
Gasly was also ninth-fastest on the speed trap:
One thing we do know for sure: If that configuration does work for Alpine, the other ten teams are sure to follow.
