Much like the other teams towards the rear of the field, 2022 was a year of mixed fortune for Alfa Romeo, who took advantage of the early part of the season, just like Haas, to bag a strong place in the constructors. The question is can they maintain this for the long term?
After a few years towards the rear of the field during the last set of regulations, Alfa Romeo were able to get their car down to the weight limit early in the 2022 season, which gave them a huge amount of relative performance in the opening races. Then, as other teams brought the weight down, and as reliability issues began to creep in, points became harder to come by for the Swiss team.
In their current guise, despite having a strong base, with its own wind tunnel, the Sauber outfit simply cannot compete with the strength of the teams above them. This, coupled with the sea change occurring as Audi comes in to take over the team, will make it hard for them to challenge Aston Martin and Alpine.
The addition of Bottas and Zhou for last season was able to revitalise the team. Their previous line up just felt like it was lacking something, with Kimi not passionate enough to push the team forwards, and Giovinazzi lacking pace to do so either. The newfound freedom that Bottas has found with the team, is allowing him to be at his best, whilst Zhou has proved himself to be a highly capable rookie.
If the Ferrari power unit is as powerful as it is rumoured to be, that could be another weapon in their arsenal. The knowledge of the team’s future might also allow them to maximise their potential, without any pressure from management. These next three seasons, whilst obviously they want to do their best, aren’t exactly going to be a turning point either way for the team.
One big question will be around the appointment of Alessandro Alunni Bravi, and what he can bring to the team? He is a lawyer by profession, but with a lot of motorsport experience. The major concern will be if he has the technical knowledge to lead the team on a day-to-day basis. This may be why his title is ‘team representative’, which sounds like more of a PR/media role, as opposed to a technical one.
This appointment does feel like it is Audi bringing in someone to steady the ship, evaluate the team, and decide how best to transfer resources when Audi comes in to F1, rather than a team leader for here and now. That is my main concern with the team currently; the knowledge of the 2026 changes to the team gives Sauber security, but it might also give upper management, and even the engineers themselves, less impetus to attack the next few years.
What this means is that it is possible for the team, if they got it right, to be on the coat tails of the midfield, yet I just can’t see risks being taken to do so. For me therefore, they will be the 7th fastest team, able to be clear of the 3 teams below them, but not quite able to consistently battle for points.
If testing is to be believed, then they may battle McLaren in the initial races, before Woking sort their car out. After that, it may just leave Alfa Romeo on their own, caught between two, 3-team battles.
-M
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