The renamed Alfa Romeo Racing Team, formerly Sauber, has been working hard over the winter to give new driver Kimi Raikkonen the tools to do the job. The one thing you can say about Kimi is that when he gets in a car he will drive the wheels off it and say it as it is, which will make him a real asset to the team. This is the second year of the team having a solid financial base to build from, and together with Raikkonen it is out to prove that it can mix with, if not lead, that midfield bunch throughout the season.
The car is very interesting in quite a few areas. The front wing is the most distinctive in that the flaps sweep downwards as they go outwards towards the endplates. The flap elements still exist but they form a very flat angle of attack, meaning that they won’t produce much downforce in this area. But it also means there won’t be as much of a change in that downforce production when the front wheel angles change when steering. Consistency in downforce is what gives the driver confidence and there must be a trade-off between this and the search for higher peaks. Combine peaky downforce with the application of steering lock, which is what’s required to get the car around a corner, and if both add up to a negative it’s pretty easy to lose a lot of lap time.
Regarding the sidepods, on last season’s Sauber the sidepods were clever mix of high-top and conventional design elements. Originally there were inlets above and the side crash structure, but later in the season these two inlets were merged into one semi-circular inlet. This concept was repackaged for the C38, where there is now a proper high-top sidepod. The side crash structure is lower and a single inlet is formed above it. This very small and rounded inlet feeds down into the sidepod’s radiators, while the sidepods themselves are reduced in size by the amount of cooling radiators mounted above the engine.
As the 2019 Alfa Romeo retains the complex array of roll hoop inlets, feeding not just the engine airbox, but further coolers for the power unit’s ERS and oil system.
Alfa Romeo has a close technical relationship with Ferrari and uses the Ferrari power unit and gearbox. Along with that, the rear suspension may be from Ferrari – or is at least influenced by its concept, in which the rear pushrod links to the top wishbone well away from the inside of the wheel. Also, the fairing coming from the upright to the wishbone pickup point is similar. All this is to improve the geometry and enable the team to use less static camber. This means the tyre contact patch in the slower corners is bigger and gives better traction while the suspension induces the camber required to give stability in the fast corners.
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