Why Alonso claims there’s no downside to testing F1 car upgrades during a sprint weekend

Only in Hollywood hokum such as the frequently absurd F1 movie is it possible to add a couple of new aerodynamic elements to a car and transform it from also-ran to winner. In reality technical progress is incremental and the research underpinning it is based on grinding repeatability.

And this is before the parts go on the ‘real’ car to establish whether they work as expected.

So it’s counter-intuitive to trial new components on a weekend such as this year’s Belgian Grand Prix, where the sprint format means there is just one Formula 1 practice session. This in addition to Pirelli’s experimental compound ‘step’ making tyre choice more fraught than usual, and all against the background of the typically fickle Ardennes microclimate.

Nevertheless, Aston Martin and Racing Bulls are introducing new aerodynamic elements this weekend. Aston’s package consists of new front and rear wings, although the plan is for the front wing to run on Alonso’s car only in practice for validation purposes.

“I think the team is trying to bring the upgrades whenever they’re ready,” said Fernando Alonso when asked by Autosport to clarify the rationale behind bringing new components to a weekend with so many other variables.

“And probably this was forecasted for Budapest or later in the season and they managed to bring it a little bit earlier and we have a chance to test it here. There’s no guarantee that we will race with it if we have no time to test it. But at the same time, I think it was welcome – that there is this push from everyone in the factory to bring the new parts as soon as possible.

“So, let’s see if we can test it properly. If we do and we opt to race with it, we will have a better feel after the weekend.”

Aston Martin introduced a floor and top bodywork development during the British Grand Prix weekend. Alonso was less than effusive about the impact of this package when asked about it at Silverstone, describing it as “slight”.

But this comment also has to be viewed in context. The overall picture at Silverstone was skewed by the mixed conditions and the fact several other teams brought upgrades – which might have reduced the net effect of Aston’s own package.

In any case, Aston Martin is reverting the previous floor spec for Spa because this track has lower downforce requirements and – more pressingly – is unforgiving of the kind of ultra-low ride heights for which the latest floor spec was optimised.

“Fernando will test the front wing in practice,” team principal and CEO Andy Cowell told selected media including Autosport.

“We’ll look at the data quickly. This is a very low-downforce circuit and, if we’re unsure, we’ll stick with our existing wing. I’m expecting that’s the route we’ll go down – we’ll stick with the wing that we know.

“But running in practice will provide some data we can crunch ahead of Budapest, where it’s more likely to be a benefit because it’s a higher-downforce circuit.

“We’ve also got a low-downforce rear wing which is part of the rear-wing family we’ve been running all season, it’s just a lower-downforce variant which we’re planning to keep on the car throughout the race weekend.”

Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing, Andy Cowell, Aston Martin Racing

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

One opportunity is that under the present sprint format the parc ferme rules are less restrictive than before, so changes can be made to car specs on Saturdays between the sprint race and grand prix qualifying. Under the first iterations of the sprint rules, set-ups were effectively frozen after first practice.

So, as well as the possibility of swapping out either wing between practice and sprint qualifying, this could be done between the sprint race and grand prix qualifying. A front-wing change can be achieved in less than 30 seconds.

“If we cannot test it [the new front wing] in FP1, maybe we opt not to fit it for the quali,” Alonso said. “And at the same time, I think we have the parc ferme open after the sprint race, so we could use the first part of the weekend as a test and then race on Sunday with the best spec.

“So, I think there are plenty of possibilities. I’m not concerned.”

Alonso’s comments also have to be viewed through the prism of Aston Martin’s position in the championship – eighth – as well as the picture of relative performance. Earlier in the Thursday press conference he had struggled to summon great enthusiasm for the topic of the battle for fifth place in the constructors’ championship, saying “there is not much more to do”.