Alfa Romeo launched their new C 42 Challenger Sunday morning, making it the final Formula One car revealed for the 2022 season.
HINWIL, Switzerland—The Swiss-owned team has already participated in the recent three-day test at the Circuit de Catalunya near Barcelona, Spain, but it did so with a camouflaged livery. Last year, the car was primarily white with a bit of red color. This season, things changed. Red will be the primary color, which includes the front and the halo. In sort of retro font, the company name is now on the engine cover for all to see, which makes it pleasing to the eye.
Beyond aesthetics, the team is trying to recover and move up the order following a dismal 2021 season. Last year, Alfa Romeo finished second to last on the grid, ahead of the last-place finisher, American Haas, in the Constructor’s Championship.
The driver lineup has changed dramatically, with former Finnish driver Kimi Raikkonen now retired. Italian Antonio Giovinazzi, although still working as a test driver at Ferrari, is committing more time to Formula E. That means two new drivers will be in the seat for 2022–former Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas and Chinese rookie Granyu Zhou.
Valtteri Bottas: I am impressed with our new car. It’s my first car at Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN, of course, which makes it unique, and I am looking forward to being on the grid in Bahrain with it. What is exciting is that we have no idea how that first race will pan out. Testing helped us confirm our expectations of the progress we have made with the car, but now we are getting closer to the moment that matters. Since I joined, I have seen so much motivation within this team: everyone is pushing a lot, trying to work harder than the others to be competitive, and that in turn gives me that extra boost when I am in the cockpit.
Zhou was just as enthusiastic. “I am fully pumped up for the season, and seeing the C42 in the livery in which I will race it makes it real. We are at the beginning of a new era, with new cars and new regulations, and this creates an opportunity for all teams to make progress since we are all starting from scratch.”
Polish veteran driver Robert Kubica remains the test driver, and he did quite a few laps in this past week’s test. His sponsor, the Polish oil firm Orlen, is represented on the car.
Like all the others, the team will return for the final test March 8-10 at the Bahrain International Circuit. The 2020 season begins at the same location on March 20.
