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Alpine F1 Reliability Issues Caused by Water Pump, Solution Coming in 2023

Formula 1 is one of the biggest motorsports on the planet, and as such, it attracts some of the biggest technological innovations and issues.
Alpine F1 2022 Car 9 photos
Photo: BWT Alpine F1 Team
McLaren F1 Team Abu Dhabi TestingBrazilian GP Starting GridMcLaren F1 Team Pit CrewAlpine 2022 F1 CarAlpine 2022 F1 CarEsteban OconFernando AlonsoAlpine 2022 F1 Car
While the 2022 Formula 1 season was appallingly boring as far as the title fight was concerned, we did get to see a lot of great fighting for minor placements in the championship. That’s not to say the fight for second place was not interesting as well, but we kind of knew Mercedes was too far behind to catch up.

Meanwhile, a rivalry that has been going on for a few seasons was in full swing. Of course, that means Alpine and McLaren were fighting it out tooth and nail for fourth place in the constructor’s standings.

At least Lando Norris and Esteban Ocon were. Well, this is not strictly speaking true. While each team has a pair of drivers, Alpine’s Fernando Alonso and McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo were both underperforming, albeit for very different reasons.

Norris wiped the floor with the Honey Badger in terms of points, as the Spaniard managed a decent 2021 campaign with the French racing outfit. While not comprehensively outscoring his teammate, he did finish out ahead with a solid chunk of points to his name.

The 2022 season was a different story, although Alonso cannot be blamed for it, maximizing almost every result he could. However, he was faced with an insurmountable difficulty. The car was simply unable to finish the races.

Alpine (especially Alonso’s car) was facing huge reliability issues. While not as spectacular as Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari going up in flames, the Spaniard’s power unit was giving up a lot more often than it should. This could very well be the reason why he chose to depart for Aston Martin.

However, there is a light at the end of every tunnel and Alpine (along with parent company Renault) seems to have found it. According to Renault, who is also the engine manufacturer, the water pump can be blamed for most of the problems the team has encountered.

Renault’s engine chief Bruno Famin explained the issue was not with the core design of the power unit, but rather the auxiliaries, “We have not got a really major issue on the engine itself, on the ICE.”

He continued by stating, “We had problems in Singapore, which is a fact. It was very strange, in fact, because to have two different problems in eight laps difference was quite incredible, but we had it. All the other problems we had were much more on the auxiliaries side; water pump, fuel pump. And this is something we are quite optimistic that we will be able to solve for ’23.”

He reckons that for the 2023 season, addressing these issues will be enough and the performance of the power unit will not have to be toned down. The team has made strides to improve their auxiliary components in 2022, and it seems to be the core concept of the water pump that was a problem.

This can easily be fixed over the break between seasons, with a brand new concept implemented into the power unit. Hopefully, along with McLaren’s push for a better car and the signing of Oscar Piastri, this means we are going to see an even more interesting battle.

Not only for the title of best of the rest and better prize money but also because the British team is under pressure. They must show Lando Norris they can fight at the top in order to keep him onboard and also prove to Piastri he made the right choice.
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About the author: Bogdan Bebeselea
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As a kid, Bogdan grew up handing his dad the tools needed to work on his old Citroen and asking one too many questions about everything happening inside the engine bay. Naturally, this upbringing led Bogdan to become an engineer, but thanks to Top Gear, The Fast and the Furious series, and racing video games, a passion for automotive entertainment was ignited.
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