Alfa Romeo is planning to introduce at least two more updates to its single-seater this season, as the Hinwill, Switzerland-based team aims to move up the order in the second half of the season especially now Audi have already started putting effort into the team in preparations for taking over as a works team.
Since the start of the 2023 campaign, the Alfa Romeo team has scored just nine points in the Constructors’ World Championship (5 for Bottas and 4 for Zhou) and therefore occupies ninth place in the standings before F1 resumes this week, two points behind Haas and six ahead of AlphaTauri.
Audi takes over
Alfa Romeo Sauber is in the midst of a period of change. The team recently sold a minority stake to Audi, marking the German car manufacturer’s entry into Formula One in 2026. This impending takeover by Audi is scheduled for next season, which will inevitably mean Alfa Romeo relinquishing its role as the team’s main sponsor.
According to reports, Alfa Romeo has reached an agreement to maintain its presence in the sport. As part of this agreement, the brand will transfer its affiliation and support to the Haas F1 team, which is currently supported by Moneygram. Importantly, there is no brand conflict between Moneygram and Alfa Romeo, paving the way for a co-sponsorship model for the American-owned team.
The introduction of F1’s new ‘ground effect’ car design regulations last season initially appeared to favour Alfa Romeo’s performance. The team scored a commendable 51 points in the early rounds.
Despite extensive revisions to the car, including overhauls to the cooling system and rear end, the Ferrari-powered C43 has scored just nine points from the first 10 races of the current season.
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Big push with major upgrades
With ten Grands Prix still to be contested this year, Alfa Romeo will continue its efforts in the second half of the season to try and move up the standings, as team representative Alessandro Alunni Bravi confirms.
“We can’t compare this season with last season. Last year, we finished sixth, which was the best result in a decade for our team,” the Italian explained to Speedcafe.
“But in the second half of the season [in 2022], we also took a step backwards, so we started from that point. And the fight is really tight in the field. Aston Martin has taken a big step back, Aston Martin is fighting for third place in the constructors’ championship.”
“We expect the competition to get even tougher every season. In Formula 1, we raise the bar every year in terms of technology and investment. It’s an ongoing battle.”
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“We have a plan…”
“We have a plan for the season. We’re looking forward to the next big upgrade planned for Monza, and then another major upgrade at Suzuka. So we have our plan.”
“What’s important is that we’ve been able to see that we need big upgrades, it’s not enough to gain a tenth. So you need to be able to produce upgrades that allow you to make a significant step.”
“It’s not about micro or small developments, those are marginal gains for us. For us, it’s about every time we introduce an upgrade that it offers us two or three tenths. It’s a challenge, because if it were easy, everyone would do it.”
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