We don’t typically cover motorsport on CarShowroom but we’re frankly thrilled to hear that the Alfa Romeo name will be returning to Formula 1. The news itself was announced last week but over the weekend the Italian automaker along with their constructer partner, Sauber, unveiled their car for the 2018 championship at a special event near Milan.
The choice to go reenter the sport was only known widely in recent weeks, and now that we can see the car which will be piloted by duo Marcus Ericsson and Charles Leclerc, the choice to align themselves with Sauber seems like an obvious one given the team’s strong ties with engine manufacturer Ferrari, whose CEO is also the head of Alfa Romeo’s parent company.
The Switzerland-based Sauber team - which had its start in the 1970s under founder Peter Sauber - hasn’t had the best of times in recent seasons, though, finishing last out of the 10 teams in the 2017 world constructors’ champion standings. In recent times, the team was on of the major title contenders when they operated with BMW as title and technical sponsor in the mid to late 2000s.
Thought it will be a big exposure boost for the storied Italian marque, the Alfa Romeo Sauber team will be in for an uphill climb. Alfa exited the sport in full in 1987, at which time they were still an engine supplier for the twin-turbocharged 1.5-litre straight-4s they were using at the time - an oddly similar powerplant configuration to that used in 2017 and continuing into 2018.
Alfa Romeo is one of the oldest and most prolific name in motorsport and, particularly, Formula 1. It was there since the sport’s inception, back when it was called the World Championship of Drivers and sanctioned by the FIA, by which point they had already been collaborating the Scuderia of former driver, Enzo Ferrari.
Guess Aston Martin isn’t the only new high profile automotive name to enter the F1 in 2018 as a title sponsor.
For more on Alfa Romeo, check out our Showroom.
