Formula 1

Alfa Romeo F1 debuts 2023 car on track

Published

1 month ago

10/02/2023

Alfa Romeo became the inaugural team to test their new car for the 2023 F1 season on track.

Today, the Alfa Romeo C43 is being tested at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona. The team released a video showcasing Valtteri Bottas driving the vehicle.

On Tuesday, Alfa Romeo, operated by Sauber, unveiled its latest car at its headquarters in Hinwil, Switzerland. However, the car presented by drivers Bottas and Zhou Guanyu was a mock-up of the design. The team also provided images of the 2023 car in renderings.

The actual Alfa Romeo C43 has now made its debut on the racetrack where the Spanish Grand Prix will take place in May.

Teams are allowed to carry out limited on-track driving with their current vehicles outside of races and officially scheduled testing sessions. However, this driving must not exceed 100 kilometers, which is equivalent to 21 laps around Circuit de Catalunya.

The C43 model that was unveiled two days ago is up for auction by the team, and the current leading bid is £98,500.

Alfa Romeo F1 has identified two crucial areas for improvement in the 2023 season.

Jan Monchaux, Technical Director of Alfa Romeo, has emphasized that the team will concentrate on two key areas for the 2023 Formula One season: enhancing reliability and steady development throughout the season.

After underperforming for two seasons near the bottom of the grid, Alfa Romeo made a strong start to the sport’s latest technical overhaul, earning 51 points in the first nine races and firmly establishing themselves as contenders for fourth place in the Constructors’ Championship.

However, Alfa Romeo soon fell behind competitors such as Alpine and McLaren in the race for technical advancements, ultimately only maintaining their sixth-place finish in the teams’ standings by beating back a strong late-season comeback from Aston Martin on a tiebreaker.

Although Monchaux thinks that the majority of teams will catch up with the changes in the rules imposed last year by the start of the current season, he recognizes that maintaining their competitiveness throughout 2023 will be Alfa Romeo’s greatest challenge.