Alpine: We’ll deal with this power unit for next two years

Renault have always struggled with producing a competitive Formula 1 power unit under the turbo-hybrid regulations, with a bad start back in 2014 that ultimately lead to divorce with Red Bull who went on to find success with Honda.

The Renault power unit is currently powering the Alpine cars only and it is a well known fact up and down the paddock that it is down on power, somewhere in the region of 30HP, and with the current freeze on the power units, Harman admits there is nothing the team can do ahead of the new regulations in 2026 that will see a new power unit developed.

Speaking to Formula 1's Official Website, Harman said: "We have the technology and capability to put the power unit where we would like it to be, we just ran out of time on the RE22.

"We were very courageous with that engine. OK it’s a bit behind where we would like it to be but it used to be a long way behind. We made a big step, but we didn’t quite get there enough.

"We couldn’t take anymore risks than we did. It would have been nice to have it unlocked for a little while to do that again but in the end, it’s also important to note we have another power unit to do at the moment. That’s a big focus for the team – and that’s where we see our future.

"We took a decision in the end to focus on the future, and we’ll deal with this power unit for the next two years by trying to remove some of its losses and everything we can do within these regulations," Harman maintained.

Alpine concluded the 2023 F1 season in no man's land, sixth in the Constructors' Championship, far off fifth and seventh, after a turbulent season that saw CEO Laurent Rossi, Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer, Technical Director Pat Fry and Sporting Director Alan Permane all leave.

While in 2022 Alpine were able to efficiently update their car, that was not the case with the 2023 machine, the A523, which suffered from a very narrow operating and setup window.

"I think we got a little bit outgunned aerodynamically by some other cars," Harman said of 2023. "We did make some ground at the start of the season on the people we were targeting.

"But there were some notable teams that had made a bigger step than we did. Some of that is to do with pure load on the car, pure development and the amount of load we’re able to put on the car. Some of it was the understanding we needed to extract from the car in the way in which we operate it.

"There have been experiments going on throughout the year to try and get to the bottom of that. Some of it has been visible, some of it hasn’t been so visible. We hope to use that learning to try and get a more positive result this year," he revealed.

Harman admitted it took Alpine time to understand their A523, he said: "We didn’t really get to grips with the car until the second, third, maybe fourth event. That’s quite unlike us. We have a very capable trackside engineering team – in conjunction with the factory, [but] it took us a while to get to grips with that.

"It’s not because it’s difficult to set up, it’s because the window is so narrow – so you’re having to make compromises. It’s tricky. You go to a circuit where ride is important to the driver – and we can’t put the car there because of the performance loss," he explained.

Comparing 2022 and 2023 Harman added: "We didn’t do as well as we did on the A522 – we had a great year that year. Every time we touched the development of the car, we put load on, and we took a lot of weight off the car – there was a lot of performance to be had.

"It’s become trickier. You have to get into more detail so we have to be more careful in how we invest the money. I don’t think this year has been as successful as the A522.

"That’s why for the following year’s car [2024] we have had to unlock some real estate again, which is why the car is completely new from front to back. You’ll see that up and down the grid because the car has to last for a couple of years while we look for the future," he pointed out.

With new cars planned for 2026 along with the new power units, Harman admitted that is were the focus of the team is directed.

He said: "Our focus is on the future and the 2026 regs as well as the cars we need to do between now and then.

"We have got some big ideas for that [2026]. We have also got a big programme at both sites [power unit base at Viry, France, and chassis HQ at Enstone, UK], to improve the capabilities and functions," Harman concluded.