F1 Belgian Grand Prix: Alpine Set to Bring New Floor for A523 at Spa-Francorchamps Race

The Alpine Formula 1 team is banking on the big leap given by a new floor which will be used in the Belgian Grand Prix in order to regain a bit of rhythm. The team is trying to catch up to McLaren after the latter achieved a significant performance improvement, thus this change follows closely on the heels of the introduction of a new front wing at Silverstone. The team notes that the front wing might have been optimised without the new floor being in place, which is a common problem when update packages are released in phases. Esteban Ocon's fourth-place qualifying and third-place result in Monaco were highlights for the team, although Pierre Gasly's fourth-fastest Q3 time in Spain was tempered by a six-place grid penalty. Following Esteban Ocon's victory in the 2023 Formula One Grand Prix of Monaco, Team Alpine has been struggling. In the most recent Hungarian Grand Prix, both Alpine cars collided, forcing the team to withdraw early. 

Also Read: F1 Belgian Grand Prix: When and Where to Watch Spa-Francorchamps Race in India

F1 Belgian Grand Prix: Alpine 2023 Season so far

McLaren's 58-point gain during the British and Hungarian GP weekends has given them an 87-47 edge over Alpine, who had been vying for fifth position in the world championship before these two races.

After a sluggish start to the season, McLaren has been doing much better now that the team has introduced its major upgrade packages. Because of this, Lando Norris was able to finish in the top four in Austria and, most recently, second at Silverstone and Hungaroring. With Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly both retiring from the British Grand Prix and Hungarian Grand Prix, McLaren was able to leapfrog Alpine and rise to fifth in the constructors' rankings.

Alpine, in an attempt to recapture fifth position in the constructors' championship from McLaren, purchased a new front wing for the Hungaroring race. This new design for the top flap comes after the team made significant adjustments to the structure of its front wing for the British Grand Prix. 

Due to their dismal showing this year, Alpine is now in sixth position in the constructors' standings. Szafnauer is sceptical that his team has lost ground to the opposition, but he is clear that they must improve their scoring output.

Also Read: F1 Belgian Grand Prix: Alfa Romeo Set to Run in New Livery in Spa-Francorchamps

F1 Belgian Grand Prix: Management Change at Alpine

In the days leading up to the Hungarian Grand Prix, Alpine revealed that Laurent Rossi would be stepping down as CEO of the French company and the Formula 1 team and that Philippe Krief would be taking over. Krief will also continue in his present role as Alpine's vice president of engineering and product performance until a replacement is sought. Rossi, meanwhile, will "focus on special projects linked to the transformation of the Group."  It comes as no surprise that Alpine would make such a move at the top, since the company recently restructured its racing senior management setup, moving F1 engine head Bruno Famin to vice president of Alpine Motorsports. 

Rossi became CEO of the Alpine sports car company in January 2021. His responsibilities also included managing the whole Formula 1 team. During Cyril Abiteboul's term as team principal,  Renault had trouble with 1.6-litre turbo hybrid rules and received criticism from Red Bull, who used the Renault engine at the time but ran it under the Tag Huer brand.