Here is the Alpine A526, Briatore: “We start from a blank sheet of paper, it’s a great opportunity”

The gallery of the Alpine A526 The words of Flavio Briatore “We are preparing for what will undoubtedly be a unique season in the history of Formula 1, not least for us because the new technical regulations offer a blank sheet of paper and a great opportunity to be more competitive than in previous seasons. There have been intense months in the factory in Enstone to prepare for the season, designing and creating the A526 together with Mercedes who will supply the new engine and gearbox, a partnership that makes us very enthusiastic”. The words of technical director David Sanchez “With such important changes in the regulations, this project has been a very interesting challenge, to which we have dedicated all our energies. The car is shorter and narrower than in recent years, with a certain aerodynamic freedom to explore. We have the return of active aerodynamics, which allows us to have movable front and rear wings, something that the vast majority of drivers on the grid will never have experienced before. The reduction in downforce and aerodynamic drag should lead to more exciting racing. It has been fantastic to work closely with our new colleagues at Brixworth over the last few months and weeks. All of us at Enstone are looking forward to starting next week in Barcelona, where we will have a lot to learn and understand about the A526.” The team has come a long way to get to this point. We have been working hard on the simulator over the last year to prepare for the new regulations and I know everyone at Enstone has worked hard to develop the best package possible. What we see in the first few weeks of the year, starting with next week’s shakedown, will be interesting, but it won’t be the final product, as we will continue to learn and develop the entire package each time we hit the track. I’m not setting any expectations. It will be about working hard with the team to understand what areas need improvement and we will take it day by day, simply trying to be as competitive as possible throughout the year. Of course I am enthusiastic and optimistic, but very realistic in my ambitions. At this moment I feel immense pride that the team has achieved all its objectives in preparing the A526.” The words of Franco Colapinto “For the first time in my career, I had a real seasonal break to prepare for a full-time year, from testing to the first race. For me it is very important because I feel like an integral part of the project and this means that I can work hard with all the team members from the beginning. We had a good opportunity to see the car and prepare on the simulator. Obviously it is very different from everything I have tried so far and I think it is the same for most of the drivers on the grid. There are new tricks and new challenges to learn to get the most out of the package and I see it as a really incredible challenge. I know everyone in the team is extremely motivated to have a good season. I will just try to learn as much as I can in the first races, continue to build, continue to grow and hopefully this means we can be competitive as a team.”