From promising points contender to contender for the red lantern: detailed shots of the Alfa Romeo C43 driven by Valtteri Bottas and Guanyu Zhou
Alfa Romeo was one of the positive surprises in the first year of the new Formula 1 era from 2022 and was able to establish itself in the front midfield – but not for long. By the ninth race in Canada, Valtteri Bottas had finished in the points seven times, but not much came after that
The team only bagged three more top 10 results for the rest of the year, but still managed to hold on to sixth place in the constructors’ championship. However, the poor form continued in 2023.
With the C43, the Sauber racing team, which will compete under the name Stake F1 Team in 2024, showed similar performances to the second half of the 2022 season – only without the strong results from the first half of the year.
As a result, the team only scored 16 points instead of 55 and dropped to ninth place in the constructors’ championship. Only the Haas team collected fewer points than Alfa Romeo in 2023.
The year had actually started quite well. Bottas finished eighth in the season opener in Bahrain, and teammate Guanyu Zhou also scored points for the first time in the third race of the season in Australia. However, eighth place was also the highest of feelings for the Swiss: the racing team was never going to get a better result.
Let’s take another look back at the technical developments of the Alfa Romeo C43, which at least in the second half of the season was once again able to provide a small highlight.
The special conditions with mandatory maximum stints in Qatar seemed to suit the car, allowing Bottas and Zhou to achieve their best results of the season with eighth and ninth place. However, this was no longer enough to finish ahead of AlphaTauri and Williams.
In 2024, the team with a new identity – but the old drivers – will hope to make another leap forward.
