Dissecting the Beautiful C41 - How Does the Car Stack Up to the Livery
Alfa Romeo have joined the thin-nose club, but what else has changed?
Red and white is the best colour combination. You will not convince me otherwise.
I mean, just look at *this*:
It's definitely the best looking car so far but Alfa Romeo were backmarkers in 2020; so what have they changed to lift themselves back up?
Alfa opted to spend their development tokens entirely on the front of the car. They've finally moved away from the increasingly out of fashion thick nose; instead slimming it out and rounding it off. In general, the thin noses tend to be less prone stall at slow speeds and so are more aerodynamically powerful in slow corners. Theoretically, larger noses produce more downforce but as we've seen in the past few years from the likes of Ferrari, they're less efficient and less stable - Alfa are the latest team to get rid of them.
The front wing is also slightly different; the fold around the powerful Y250 vortex - energetic, spiralling air produced at the point where the front wing is closest to the nose cone - is taller and the endplate is simpler.
Furthermore, the thumb tip - right at the bottom of the nose - is no longer similar to Red Bull's and features a more rounded, caped cover which allows the crash structure to extend further down; increasing it's effect.
They've also decided to use a thinner brake duct with a more upside-down L shape - it's all change at the front!
The floor seems to be a mix of the Alpha Tauri and McLaren; most of it is simple but around halfway, akin to the AT, there's a lip which draws air underneath. At the very rear there is raised section, presumably to again draw air in right in front of the tyre, which would reduce drag a touch. Alfa Romeo have the high-rake philosophy, and therefore introducing more air from outside to the 'diffuser seal' may be problematic. But as always, there must be a trade off in order to gain back the lost downforce from the new rules; and this is AR's way of going about it.
Interestingly, the shark fin-like piece from on top of the engine cover is gone - the upper red line shows how it used to be whilst the lower red line shows what it is now. Unlike some other teams AR have also maintained a quite bulky sidepod, and haven't opted to introduce any cuts.
Alfa have implemented a slotted rear wing endplate and, like Haas, Red Bull and McLaren, have many of these flick-up strakes above the slots in order to generate more vortices. The diffuser - once again restricted by 50mm for 2021 - is highlighted in lower red circle.
Unlike Haas and McLaren, AR have actually spent a fair amount of time developing their C41 - not C40, which is what the 2022 car will be called because they started designing it before 2021's car - and I'm pleasantly surprised. These changes all seem very positive, and hopefully it'll allow them to enjoy a better 2021.
All they need, is a strong Ferrari power unit...
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All pictures are from the above sources, whilst all edits are my own
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