Alfa Romeo have revealed a version of the new car ahead of the 2023 season that’s not just the livery, making them the first team to do so.
It will be the last year of the Italian marque’s sponsorship of Sauber before the transition to Audi for 2026, with the team unveiling a striking red and black colour scheme.
Ironing out inconsistencies
The Swiss squad had a strong start to last year and had the fourth fastest car at some tracks because they were the only team running at the minimum weight limit.
But, as teams began to reduce the weight of their packages, Alfa Romeo lost performance relative to the rest of the field with a car that appeared strong at low speed however, lacked stability in high-speed corners and was inconsistent at a range of different circuits.
Despite their weaknesses the squad was able to claim sixth place in the constructors’ standings just ahead of Aston Martin.
When asked by Motorsport.com if consistency was key Valtteri Bottas said: “I feel like this car is at least from the numbers in the simulator a bit more of an all-rounder, versus just quick on the slow speed tracks.
“One big limitation last year was high- speed load and balance. And in theory that should be way better. So, let’s see.”
Improving rear downforce
Alfa Romeo technical director Jan Monchaux also revealed that the team has focused on extracting more from the rear of the car.
He told The Race: “We concentrated mainly on the rear part of the car, where we just wanted to be brave enough to do the next step in terms of pure development on the rear end.
“The concept we had followed last year had come to a plateau. And to unleash the next level of performance we had to do all those changes.
“We’ve really been putting a lot of effort on the second part of the car, while the front will develop during the off season.”
Monchaux added on the detail of the changes and how it will impact the overall balance.
“We had to acknowledge that there were better solutions on how to manage the flow to the diffuser and between the rear tyres.
“But because of the decision we had made from an architectural point of view, we were stuck in a corner.
“From what we’ve seen, some of the weaknesses we had from an aero point of view which was effectively high-speed performance, have been significantly improved thanks to the potential we unleashed with this new bodywork and this new way of working the floor between the rear tyres.”
The notable changes to the rear of the car include a Red Bull style sidepod with the aggressive downward ramp, aimed at feeding more air into the coke bottle area, a modified engine cover and a switch to pull rod suspension.
It’s nice to see a team reveal a version of their car that will feature some elements of the final design as winter testing begins in a couple of weeks’ time.