Alpine A523
Pierre Gasly driving an A523 during the Austrian Grand Prix.
CategoryFormula One
ConstructorAlpine
Designer(s)Pat Fry (Chief Technical Officer)
Matthew Harman (Technical Director)
Simon Virrill (Chief Designer)
Benjamin Norton (Chief Engineer)
Dirk de Beer (Head of Aerodynamics)
James Rodgers (Chief Aerodynamicist)
PredecessorAlpine A522
Technical specifications
Suspension (front)Double wishbone push-rod
Suspension (rear)Double wishbone push-rod
EngineMecachrome-built and assembled Renault E-Tech RE23
1.6 L (98 cu in) direct injection V6 turbocharged engine limited to 15,000 RPM in a mid-mounted, rear-wheel drive layout 1.6 L (98 cu in) Turbo Rear-mid mounted
Electric motorKinetic and thermal energy recovery systems
FuelBP[1]
LubricantsCastrol[1]
Tyres
Competition history
Notable entrantsBWT Alpine F1 Team
Notable drivers
Debut2023 Bahrain Grand Prix
Last event2023 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
RacesWinsPodiumsPolesF/Laps
220200

The Alpine A523 is a Formula One racing car designed and constructed by the BWT Alpine F1 Team for the 2023 Formula One World Championship. The car was driven by Pierre Gasly, in his first season for the Enstone-based team, and Esteban Ocon.

Design and development

The A523 was first revealed on 16 February 2023[2][3] alongside a special pink livery for the first three races of the season.[4] In advance of the launch, Alpine ran the car through 17 laps shared between Gasly and Ocon at the Silverstone Circuit.[5][6] The car shared several design cues with the AlphaTauri AT03, where push-rod rear suspension was used in lieu of the A522's equivalent pull-rod suspension design, as well as rectangular sidepod inlets, flat-shaped nose, and a raised front wing central section.

Season Summary

First 10 Races

Ocon qualified 9th for the season opener in Bahrain whilst Gasly qualified 20th and last for his debut with Alpine after having his lap time deleted for track limits. Gasly however would have a brilliant first race for the team finishing 9th after a brilliant strategy even holding the fastest lap before Zhou Guanyu pitted and went quicker then him. Meanwhile Ocon had a miserable first race of the season as he received a 5 second time penalty for lining up in his grid slot incorrectly at the start. He then received a ten second penalty for not serving the 5 second time penalty correctly. Finally he received another 5 second penalty for speeding in the pit lane so the team eventually retired him to save his engine. Alpine left Bahrain 6th in the constructors championship with 2 points.

Ocon qualified 7th for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix with Gasly qualifying 10th. At the start of the race Gasly made contact with Oscar Piastri but didn't receive damage. Gasly and Ocon both would be passed by Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc who were recovering from bad qualifying's but both dropped two places when the safety car came out due to Lance Stroll's retirement. The two couldn't keep up with the top 4 drivers so Ocon and Gasly finished 8th and 9th respectively with Ocon scoring his first points of the season. Alpine left Jeddah 5th in the constructors championship with 8 points.

Ocon qualified 11th for the Australian Grand Prix with Gasly qualifying 9th. At the start Gasly jumped into 7th before the safety car came out. Ocon however slipped back to 15th place after a poor start. When Alex Albon crashed on lap 7 Gasly and Ocon both stayed out and were able to change tyres under the red flag. Gasly and Ocon took the restart 4th and 13th respectively but Ocon was hit by Nyck de Vries at turn 3 dropping him down the order. Gasly would run in the top 10 for a long time whilst Ocon made his way back up the order sitting 10th on lap 54 when another red flag came out due to Kevin Magnussen's crash. At the restart Ocon moved up to 7th whilst Gasly ran wide at turn 1 but then the race would turn into disaster as Gasly re-joined and moved right across the track at turn 2 but failed to notice Ocon on his right with Gasly's rear left and Ocon's front left tyres to lock causing Gasly to spin into the wall dragging Ocon along with him in a heavy crash for both drivers. After both left their cars Ocon said he had a headache from the accident whilst Gasly was apologetic for the incident. Fortunately the stewards declared the collision a racing incident meaning neither driver was penalised but due to Mclaren's double points finish Alpine slipped to 6th in the constructors championship still on 8 points.

For the first sprint weekend in Baku Ocon qualified 12th whilst Gasly crashed in Q1 meaning he would start 19th. Ocon qualified 13th for the sprint with Gasly qualifying 19th again. Ocon would finish the sprint 18th after starting from the pit lane due to suspension set up changes whilst Gasly finished 13th. Gasly finished the main race 14th whilst Ocon again started from the pit lane for the main race forcing the team to try a strategy of waiting for a late safety car but it didn't work so the team waited until the final lap to pit Ocon but as Ocon entered the pit lane he was forced to avoid some photographers who were crossing the fast lane. After his stop Ocon finished 15th behind Gasly. The FIA investigated the pit incident and changed the parc ferme procedure to avoid another incident like that happening again. Alpine left Baku 6th in the constructors with 8 points 6 behind 5th placed McLaren.

Gasly qualified 5th for the 2023 Miami Grand Prix with Ocon qualifying 9th. Gasly would finish the race 8th with Ocon finishing 9th. Ocon qualified 4th at Monaco but was promoted to third due to Charles Leclerc's grid penalty. Gasly qualified 7th. On lap 14 Carlos Sainz tried to overtake Ocon at the Nouvelle Chicane but collided with Ocon breaking his front wing. Ocon would hold third during the first round of pitstops but late rain threatened his bid for a podium as he dropped behind George Russell but regained third when Russell went off at Mirabeau. Gasly would undercut Carlos Sainz and sit between the two ferrari's after the switch to intermediates in 7th where he would finish. Ocon however would hold off Lewis Hamilton to finish in third place taking his first podium since his win at the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix and Alpine's first podium of the season. Ocon was awarded driver of the day for his performance. After the race Alpine moved back into 5th in the constructors championship on 35 points 18 points ahead of McLaren but 55 points behind 4th placed Ferrari.

Gasly qualified 4th for the Spanish Grand Prix with Ocon qualifying 7th. Ocon would finish 8th with Gasly finishing 10th. Ocon qualified 6th in Canda whilst Gasly qualified 17th after being impeded on his last lap in Q1 by Carlos Sainz. Gasly was so angry he shouted for Sainz to be banned on the radio. Ocon would finish the race 8th despite being held up by Alex Albon for the last third of the race with Gasly finishing 12th. Gasly qualified 9th for the Austrian Grand Prix with Ocon qualifying 12th. Ocon qualified 9th for the sprint with Gasly qualifying 12th. Gasly finished the sprint in 15th whilst Ocon finished 7th finishing 0.0009 seconds ahead of George Russell. Gasly finished the main race 10th whilst Ocon had a miserable race after receiving 5 separate penalties totalling 30 seconds for track limits offences and an unsafe release. This broke the record for the most penalties in a single race previously held by Pastor Maldonado.

Gasly qualified 10th for the British Grand Prix with Ocon qualifying 13th. The race would go miserably for Alpine as Ocon retired on Lap 12 due to a hydraulic leak whilst Gasly retired late in the race after Lance stroll collided with him at the Vale Chicane. Even though Stroll was penalised for the collision Alpine suffered a double retirement and due to McLaren's 2nd and 4th place the Woking team passed Alpine in the constructors championship meaning they dropped back to 6th in the standings.

Alpine finished the first 10 races 6th in the constructors championship with 47 points. Ocon was 11th in the drivers championship with 31 points whilst Gasly was 12th in the standings with 16 points.

Hungary to Japan




Complete Formula One results

(key)

Year Entrant Power unit Tyres Driver name Grands Prix Points WCC pos.
BHR SAU AUS AZE MIA MON ESP CAN AUT GBR HUN BEL NED ITA SIN JPN QAT USA MXC SAP LVG ABU
2023 BWT Alpine F1 Team Renault E-Tech RE23 P France Pierre Gasly 9 9 13† 14 8 7 10 12 10 18† Ret 113 3 15 6 10 12 67 11 7 11 13 120 6th
France Esteban Ocon Ret 8 14† 15 9 3 8 8 147 Ret Ret 8 10 Ret Ret 9 7 Ret 10 10 4 12
Reference:[7][8]

References

  1. 1 2 "Groupe Renault and BP deepen their strategic partnership". BP.
  2. ↑ "Alpine announce 2023 launch date and reveal name of new F1 challenger". Formula1.com. 4 January 2023. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  3. ↑ "Alpine unveil A523 to complete the F1 2023 launch season". Racingnews365.com. 16 February 2023.
  4. ↑ "Time to update the spotters guide for the first three races of 2023! 😉💗Alpine's pink livery returns on the A523 #F1 @AlpineF1Team". Twitter.
  5. ↑ "Alpine runs A523 F1 car at Silverstone ahead of launch". Motorsport.com. 14 February 2023. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
  6. ↑ "No problems for Alpine in pre-launch shakedown for new A523". RaceFans.net. 13 February 2023. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
  7. ↑ "2023 Constructor Standings". Formula1.com. 5 March 2023. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
  8. ↑ "Alpine A523". StatsF1. 5 March 2023. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
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