Alfa Romeo has been involved in Formula One for a long time. The Italian automaker made its Grand Prix debut in the 1950s, winning its first race in 1951. Alfa Romeo made its Formula One debut in 1950 and continued to compete until the mid-1980s, finishing on the podium several times.
The Italian team returned to Formula One in the early 2000s as a sponsor and engine supplier, providing engines to the Sauber team from 2000 to 2010. They became the title sponsor of the Sauber team in 2018, renaming it Alfa Romeo Racing. Since then, the team has finished with several points, including a best-ever fourth-place finish in 2019.
It has been home to all-time greats such as Juan Miguel Fangio and Kimi Raikkonen.
Alfa Romeo released its livery for the 2023 season on Tuesday, 7th February. The most notable change is that we can see that Alfa Romeo has followed Haas with their white and black substitution.
Major changes were made to the C43’s suspension, bodywork, colling layout, and gearbox. All these changes were made according to FIA’s new regulations regarding the constructors’ rules. This includes tweaks to the ride height and diffusers.
This is #F1 2023, @alfaromeof1 style. #GetCloser pic.twitter.com/N17W8UJfB0
— Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake (@alfaromeof1) February 7, 2023
Group Managing Director Alessandro Alunni Bravi commented on the new 43C: “Our new car is the result of months of work, but today is just the beginning of a journey.”
The livery gives the center stage to the new title sponsor, Stake. This would be the last to feature with the Alfa Romeo branding as Sauber plans to merge with Audi to form a new F1 team from 2026 onwards.
Fans react to Alfa Romeo’s new livery
Fans have unanimously shown support for the new red and black livery, saying that it is growing on them. However many fans have shown disdain for the new title sponsor, Stake, saying that it promotes gambling.
Not gonna lie its starting to grow on me. Will be intresting seeing it under sunlight
— Szenzo🇪🇪👌 (@Szenzo88) February 7, 2023
Is it fast?
— Fehl & Tadel (@fehlundtadel) February 7, 2023
You mean gambling brands? No lifestyle It is degernerate gambling
— BhagsNStonks (@BhagsNStonks) January 27, 2023
One of the fans even sarcastically asked: “Is it fast?” because it makes sense that the car should be fast enough to compete with the rest of the grid.
Stake plans to stay with the team until the Sauber F1 team uses Audi’s brand name from the 2026 season onwards and fans certainly aren’t very happy with the sponsor.
Alfa Romeo’s 2022 Season
Alfa Romeo finished 7th in the Constructors championship with Valtteri Bottas and Guanyu Zhou at the wheel. They started the year with 9 points in the Bahrain GP. Valtteri Bottas scored the highest point of Alfa Romeo’s season i.e., 12 points, scoring 10 points on Sunday and 2 points from the sprint races finishing 8th and 7th on Friday and Saturday respectively.
We’re back out there once again 😉#BahrainGP pic.twitter.com/hqVgqmy64M
— Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake (@alfaromeof1) March 19, 2022
Rookie Guanyu Zhou scored his maiden points on his first race in Bahrain.
Bottas referred to the 2022 season as “probably the most enjoyable” due to the seat security he had in Alfa Romeo as compared to Mercedes where he always was under pressure to perform on the highest level to secure his seat.
Alfa Romeo’s Plans, and Strategy for 2023
With the departure of Fred Vasseur to Ferrari as the replacement for Mattia Binotto. The Sauber group appointed Alessandro Alunni Bravi to replace Vasseur in the position of team principal.
Although Valtteri Bottas looks forward to the 2023 season, looking for ‘realistic’ improvements, he told the media “I have to say, all in all, it’s not far off from what I could imagine of the first year, in a good scenario,” and that he thinks they are not far away from the target.
Alfa Romeo have appointed Alessandro Alunni Bravi as ‘Team Representative’ for the 2023 F1 campaign #F1 @alfaromeoorlen https://t.co/9701GG7142
— Formula 1 (@F1) January 26, 2023
Guanyu Zhou, on the other hand, has expressed his optimistic confidence for the 2023 season saying “I think we have the package and the car to do so; it’s still going to be very tight in the midfield, so it’ll be about small details. Fewer mistakes and more consistency will pay off.”
Moreover, The Chinese youngster suffered an intense crash in the 2022 season at Silverstone where his car flipped over by contact at the beginning of the race that sent him flying over the tire barriers and setting the car on flames. The driver credits the halo for helping him survive the crash.
F1 accident at the British Grand Prix today
Zhou Guanyu gave an update after the crash that he is OK 🙏
(via @Taaaanxo) pic.twitter.com/RSXXPys9RY
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) July 3, 2022
However, the future looks bright for the Italian carmaker in the 2023 season where they hope to fight for the very competitive midfield alongside Aston Martin, Alpine, Haas, and AlphaTauri.
