Alfa Romeo Officially Returns to Formula One for 2019
Alfa Romeo has transitioned from title sponsor in 2018 to official racing team, backed by Sauber F1, in 2019.
On February 18, at 8:30 a.m., exactly 30 minutes before F1 cars took to the track for the first time in 2019, Alfa Romeo Racing presented the new Alfa Romeo Racing C38.
For 2019, the Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team has officially become Alfa Romeo Racing. Structure, ownership and management stay the same, the name changes. However, it’s more than just a name change, as the new race car shows. For 2019, the driver roster has also updated, with our piloti being Kimi Räikkönen and Antonio Giovinazzi, AKA Iceman and Giovi. Räikkönen is set to drive “Stelvio” (car number 7,), while Giovinazzi will drive “Giulia” (number 99), paying homage to his earlier career.
This new car bares a new livery, as well, which Alfa Romeo Racing (ARR), describes as being “even cooler and sexier, combining the classic colors of the traditional Sauber team – white and blue – with the iconic red symbolizing one of the most historical brands in racing, Alfa Romeo.”
Both Räikkönen and Giovinazzi have seen the revised 2019 car and offered positive statements about the changes, going forward.
In typical Iceman fashion, Räikkönen’s words were short, and to the point, saying: “The car looks great. The livery design is nice. A lot of partners have joined to support this team which is a positive, and we thank them for believing in us. I look forward to getting on track now and learning more about the C38 during the next two weeks of testing.”
Meanwhile, freshman Giovinazzi was bountiful in his description, saying: “I think it is a beautiful car – the design of the livery is great, very clean, and I like the colours a lot. It is my first own car in Formula One and it is something very special to me. We have many great sponsors who support us and we are very thankful for their confidence in our team. I really look forward to jumping into the C38 for the first time this week.”
The ARR team is finalizing a sponsorship/partnership program, but describes it as being a very busy time in the office, with “new partners departing on a hourly basis.”
Team Principal Frédéric Vasseur and Technical Director Simone Resta have been quite busy in this transitory time, however, Alfa says it hasn’t shown all of it’s cards yet, and says to stay tuned for further developments. Though, suffice to say, the team will be busy in the next few weeks, testing ahead of first Grand Prix of 2019, in Melbourne.