The Alfa Romeo Formula 1 team has confirmed that it will reveal its C43 race car for the 2023 season on February 7th. This will be the last season for the team to compete under the Italian car manufacturer’s moniker. After its reveal, the team will have a filming day in Barcelona to iron out any early teething problems before the only pre-season test takes place in Bahrain from February 23.
Team Progress in 2022
In the 2022 season, Valtteri Bottas and Guanyu Zhou produced strong performances, particularly in the opening phase of the campaign. However, poor reliability throughout the season put a stop to any hopes of better points, and Alfa Romeo eventually finished sixth in the constructors’ championship.
Bottas and Zhou have been retained for the 2023 season, but team principal Fred Vasseur left to join the Ferrari team as a replacement for Mattia Binotto. Andreas Seidl, former McLaren team principal, has joined the Sauber company as its new CEO ahead of its transition to Audi.
Bottas spoke in the winter about how the team needed to improve its reliability and its rate of car development in order to remain competitive. He said that part of the issue had been that there was not enough human power to produce the parts, and that the team had been distracted by its reliability issues.
Confirmed Launch Dates
Alfa Romeo’s C43 launch is one of several confirmed launch dates for the teams in the 2023 F1 season. Red Bull will launch their car on 3 February, Williams will launch their livery on 6 February, AlphaTauri will launch their livery on 11 February, McLaren and Aston Martin will launch on 13 February, Ferrari on 14 February, and Mercedes on 15 February.
Alpine will be the last team to launch on 16 February, and they will also be the first team to test their new car. This will be followed by the pre-season test in Bahrain from February 23.
