Gary Anderson unimpressed with Alpine F1's new airbox

Former car designer and Formula 1 pundit Gary Anderson has passed his judgment on Alpine's 2021 challenger. Anderson claimed he was left unimpressed by the "bulbous" new airbox.

Speaking about Alpine's A521, he said:

"Renault, or Alpine as we now have to call it, has never really had what I would call a slimline airbox/engine cover but I think the version on the A521 is taking it to the extreme. It reminds me of the Ligier JS5 of Jacques Laffite from 1976, amid F1’s trend of tall airboxes outlawed after four races of that season."

The early talk on the first day of #F1Testing has been #Alpine's unusual, bulbous airbox.Gary Anderson gives his verdict and analysis 🔗⬇️https://t.co/g1wJP5ppzc

— The Race (@wearetherace) March 12, 2021

Gary Anderson stressed that he found it hard to understand the practical or aerodynamic use of such a solution. Speaking about this section of the car, Anderson said:

"Other than covering up what’s under that section of the bodywork, and/or allowing some of the hot air from the radiators through that section of the body, allowing it to keep the body tighter lower down in the Coke bottle area, I can see no practical or aerodynamic reason for this very bulbous solution."

Anderson further added that there are better and more "elegant" solutions that could have been implemented.

"The difficulty in this area is to get the airflow to stay attached to the body surfaces as it comes off the driver’s helmet, which is moving around quite a lot. Also, when the driver opens or shuts the throttle, the airflow will change. If any of this causes separation, it can affect the rear wing performance. There are much more elegant solutions out there."'

Alpine off to a solid start on the first morning of pre-season testing

You want testing times? We've got testing times. A quick summary of what went on this morning in #F1Testing ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/l868be0q2t

— The Race (@wearetherace) March 12, 2021

Alpine and Esteban Ocon made a solid start on the first day of the pre-season test. On a morning that was marred by reigning world champions Mercedes suffering from transmission issues, Alpine and Ocon completed their testing schedule for the day and racked up mileage on their car.

The Frenchman put together 55 laps in the morning session and was fourth fastest in the standings.Fernando Alonso, the lead driver for the team, will take over testing duties on Saturday.