(Motorsport-Total.com) – Alpine has been through some tough times in Formula 1 this year, but the team proved to be one of the surprises of the weekend in Las Vegas. With Pierre Gasly fourth on the grid and Esteban Ocon moving from 16th to fourth in the race, the A523 looked well suited to the high-speed demands of the Las Vegas track.

And it was interesting to see how the team refined various aspects of their car over the weekend, which seemed to help it stack up against the competition. Alpine has been quite proactive in reviewing the front wing design this season to find the right balance between the front and rear axles along with decisions at the rear of the car.

In Las Vegas’ case, it initially seemed like this was just another top wing costume, something the team has already done regularly this season. But there was more to it than that, as Alpine used a modified version of the front wing it had used at the start of the season.

This design development follows a trend that has been established throughout the racing series to better control the suction of the front tires. Alpine notes that this would allow for better low-speed handling than the design it opted for last weekend.

This had a narrower, more movable top flap, resulting in a wider static area near the nose, both more trimmed than before. At the rear of the car, the team used the low-downforce rear wing last seen at the Italian Grand Prix.

Ferrari plays with the level of downforce

Ferrari made a crucial change to the aerodynamic setup between the second and third free practice sessions, allowing the team to produce a performance that should have secured the front row had Carlos Sainz not been penalized for new engine parts.

The Scuderia initially used the same rear wing configuration on the FT1 and FT2 as at the Belgian Grand Prix. This design features a single, center-mounted gooseneck column and is an interpretation of the open tail and endplate that has become common in the starting lineup.

At first it seemed like it was well suited to the different requirements of Las Vegas, but as the track became grippier it seemed that a solution closer to the lower end of the downforce spectrum was preferred. This is where Ferrari’s lower downforce option, which was used in FT3, qualifying and the most recent race at Monza, came into play.

Unlike the rear wing used on the FT1 and FT2, this specification does not feature the open end section or end plate, instead featuring a more conventional rear cutaway, while a twin-pillar arrangement, as well as a lower main spoiler and a upper flap. are also used.

Red Bull does its thing

While the rest of the field had to resort to a custom low-downforce package this season, Red Bull bucked that trend and used the same tactics in Las Vegas as it did at Monza. Instead of redesigning the entire rear wing, Red Bull simply cut off a significant portion of the trailing edge of the top wing.

It should be noted that in Las Vegas only Verstappen opted for this configuration, combined with a Gurney flap on the trailing edge of the cut section, while Pérez continued racing with the full flap.

McLaren confident in Monza setup

McLaren was another team that saw its Monza specification as a reasonable starting point for Las Vegas. The team decided to adapt the route, taking into account the progress made in the time between the two events.