The new package brought to Imola must gain tenths for Alfa Romeo
With only six points scored and a car lacking pace, the Swiss team will arrive at Imola with improvements. Alfa Romeo hopes to gain a few tenths and climb back into the midfield.
Alfa Romeo is having a difficult start to the season. After a convincing 2022 for the Swiss team, the beginning of 2023 is challenging for Valterri Bottas and Guanyu Zhou. Only six points have been collected by the two drivers in five races, but it is especially the car’s performances that are worrying.
Improvements for Imola
In Imola, Alfa Romeo will therefore bring improvements in order to try to get closer to the midfield. Only one Q3 session for Valterri Bottas and a points finish for each of the two drivers, who are not helped by a car that seems to lack race pace.
So it is in this context that Alfa Romeo arrives in Imola with several improvements to its car. For Guanyu Zhou, these evolutions are expected and will allow Alfa Romeo to take a step forward. There are improvements that are coming. The new features should be good, with several tenths gained. We really need them, especially for the race pace where we struggle a lot, said the Chinese driver.
Alfa Romeo wants to get out of this situation. Weekends come and go with the same pattern. The car is struggling and Valterri Bottas and Guanyu Zhou are unable to fight for points. Even both drivers are more often at the back than in the pack. Alfa Romeo is not in the position where they should be. « In terms of performance, we are not where we want to be. We are pushing everywhere because it’s very tight, and from one track to another, we can quickly drop to the back. »,” said Xevi Pujolar, Alfa Romeo’s track chief.
A car in distress
The C43 has many weaknesses that prevent both Alfa Romeo drivers from regularly scoring points. The car suffers a lot, especially during races. « If you look at Melbourne or Baku, we struggled on the straight lines. But we also struggle in the corners. It’s everywhere. »
The 2022 car seemed good and promised a great season in 2023. The team had finished in sixth place in the championship, tied with Aston Martin. But the development during the winter was not as effective as the other teams. Apart from the top 4 teams, namely Red Bull, Ferrari, Aston Martin, and Mercedes, the other 6 teams are closely matched. The 12 drivers are sometimes separated by less than a second. The importance of gaining tenths of a second every weekend is therefore crucial to maintain positions near the front of the pack. The competition is tough, and each team deploys improvements at every race, making the task challenging for the factory in Hinwil.
Even if the improvements should reduce the car’s difficulties, Xevi Pujolar is not sure that Alfa Romeo will gain positions this weekend. We have a package for Imola, which will surely help us. But I’m sure everyone will arrive with improvements. […] It will depend on what the other teams bring, Xevi Pujolar added.
