Matt Harman: Financial optimization is the new battlefield

In an interview with Auto Motor und Sport, Alpine F1’s technical director spoke about the progress of the season and plans for the future…

Q: What did you expect from the new front wing that debuted at Silverstone?
Matt Harmon: More downforce and a wider range of options when tuning the car.

Question: In the past, the front wing often determined the entire aerodynamic profile of the car. With the ground effect on modern machines, is it still important?
Matt Harmon: Yes. The front wing determines the structure of the air currents in the rear of the car. You always want to use it to create more downforce, but the air resistance will increase, balance problems can arise.

The new front wing differs significantly from the previous version. Downforce is distributed completely differently. The height of the wing has changed, which created some design issues, but the engineers did a great job. And the weight almost didn’t change when enough stiffness was achieved.

Q: Is it true that the wing was finished a week early, but you didn’t want to risk it because of the sprint in Austria?
Matt HarmonA: We didn’t bring it to Austria for two reasons. Firstly we wanted to do some final measurements and secondly we thought the track at Silverstone is more suitable for testing.

Q: Why did Alpine’s results deteriorate after the Monaco Grand Prix?
Matt Harmon: We can’t bring large scale updates to every stage. We put in a lot of new parts at the start of the season, our rivals did it later.

The third stage of refinement began with the front wing, which complemented the new underside at Spa. We hope that this will have a positive effect on the results in the very short term.

The goal remains the same. We want to be the fourth best team at the end of the season and I don’t see any reason why we couldn’t.

Q: Which suits your car better: fast corners or slow corners?
Matt Harmon: I think they are fast, the new front fender should help with that. But in slow corners there is still something to work on.

Q: Why are only Red Bull cars equally fast on all tracks, while others are very sensitive to configuration and conditions?
Matt Harmon: Building a universal machine is extremely difficult. It has become more difficult to combine mechanical and aerodynamic balance. In addition, we don’t have much time to set up the car during the weekend. In such a situation, a lot depends on the modeling tools – this is a very strong point of Red Bull, but we are working on it.

Now you have to be ready for the weekend in advance, to understand what you have to do on the track. When you have the best tools and equipment, stability is key.

Question: Are three test days at the start of the season enough?
Matt Harmon: If the regulations do not change, this is a necessary minimum. Changes in regulations require more time.

Q: Are the car body building issues still relevant?
Matt Harmon: We have everything under control. One of our aerodynamicists’ goals was to reduce the car’s sensitivity to build-ups as much as possible. In the design there is a mechanical system that allows you to deal with it.

I think all teams understood the build-up. It will never completely go away if you go over the limit, but now we know where the limit is.

Q: Will you continue refining the car after the summer break or will you focus on the 2024 car?
Matt Harmon: Novelties appear after the summer recess. We started the new car in Week 40 last year, before the 2023 car had its first race. The design process for the A524 is in full swing. After the summer holidays, we will decide when to reallocate most of the resources to a new project.

Q: What do you think of the strategy of other teams setting up outside companies to develop components for the Formula 1 car to take this development outside the budget constraints?
Matt Harmon: Financial optimization is a new battlefield in Formula 1. Everyone is trying to push the boundaries. But it’s important to remember why these rules were invented. In this regard, the FIA ​​has issued a special technical directive. It will be interesting to see how it works, and not just this year. Some teams may need to adjust their structure.

Question: Some teams can use the work on the hypercar to develop parts for Formula 1…
Matt Harmon: We have some concerns about this, but we trust the FIA. They strictly adhere to the rules.

Q: How soon will the well of refinement of today’s machines end? When everyone hits the limit, when the buildup issues slow everyone down?
Matt Harmon: The results gradually converge. Only Red Bull is a bit off – you have to admit they did a great job, but we are closer to Ferrari and Mercedes than ever.

There are several aspects. First financial rapprochement, then technical. I think we will see the first signs in 2024 and in 2025 I expect the same fierce competition as in 2021, when the teams were much closer together and the races turned out to be incredibly interesting.