Alfa Romeo say the development curve will be at its steepest in 2022 at the start of this all-new regulatory era.
The Swiss outfit finally took the covers off of their 2022 challenger, the C42, on February 27, the last of the 10 teams to do so.
It came after a tricky three-day group shakedown in Barcelona, where the C42 cloaked in a camouflage livery did indeed prove hard to spot at times due to troublesome reliability issues.
The silver lining though for Alfa Romeo was that those problems cropped up at the very start, so ahead is a relentless development war where the team know they must keep up.
Alfa Romeo’s technical director Jan Monchaux said: “As we unveil the C42, it may feel like the start of a new season: we know, however, that this launch is just a milestone in a much longer journey in which our whole staff in Hinwil has invested so much time, resource and energies.
“Designing and building this car has been a huge undertaking and we can be proud of what we have achieved, but our work is not finished.
“As always in a new rules cycle, the development curve will be at its steepest this season and we need to continue extracting new performance out of the C42 to make the progress we have set as an objective for ourselves.”
Valtteri Bottas’ tally of 54 laps in Barcelona was the lowest of all drivers on the 2022 grid, but he is nonetheless raring to go for the season ahead, his first with the team after making the move from Mercedes.
He will head to the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix with an open mind to what is achievable.
“I am impressed by our new car, the C42,” said the Finn.
“I think the livery is really beautiful, the Alfa Romeo Centro Stile did a brilliant job.
“It’s my first car at Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN, of course, which makes it special, and I am really looking forward to being on the grid in Bahrain with it.
“What is exciting is that we have no idea how that first race is going to pan out. Testing helped us confirm our expectations of where we stand, the progress we have made with the car, but now we are getting closer to the moment that really 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.”
Source: Read Full Article