F1 tech review: Alpine drifts despite inventive solutions Alpine couldn’t maintain its healthy start to this new regulatory phase, having dropped to sixth place in this year’s Formula 1 Constructors’ standings from fourth in 2022.

The team continued to develop solutions that would later be seen in racing cars, but these brilliant ideas were not consistent enough to avoid ending up with their own points island in the center of the midfield.

Overview of the front wing of the A523 during pre-season testing, showing flaps with similar wing spacing. Let’s also take a look at some of the interior suspension elements using the plate on the left.

If the front brake drum is displaced, you will see the A523 caliper in the front. Tub vents ensure full air/heat flow.
A close-up of the A523’s trailing edge shows the stepped lower edge used on the rear brake duct fenders, which also used a double blade fender assembly. The upper wing elements were located forward and below the tailpipe, while the lower elements were mounted behind and on the sides of the impact structure.

To change the behavior of the rear wingtip vortices, Alpine introduced an open-tip flap solution, where the flaps extend across the wingspan, creating additional shading surfaces and modifying the notches in the rear corners of the endplates. Alpine switched to a cone valve solution at the British Grand Prix, changing the interaction with the end plate (inset, right) and creating a washout effect when needed. The team also used different top fairing designs to meet the downforce requirements of different circuits, such as the wavy rear rim seen for the first time in Hungary.

Take a look at both front wing configurations with the new tapered version at the bottom of the image.