Alfa Romeo Racing is a new name in the Formula One block. But it’s not a new team because in fact, they have been racing since 1911 and were prominent in the early years of Formula One.
The Alfa Romeo Formula One team traces its roots to the Italian car manufacturer Alfa Romeo. Founded in 1910 as A.L.F.A, the brand has been linked to racing since 1911. Alfa Romeo holds the distinction of being the winner of the first World Championship for Grand Prix in 1925 and the first two Formula One championships in 1950 (Nino Farina) and 1951 (Juan Manuel Fangio) However, after their early successes, Alfa Romeo would leave Formula One.
Despite its absence, Alfa Romeo made its presence felt as a number of Formula One teams used independently developed Alfa Romeo engines to power their race cars. After being in the background for decades, Alfa Romeo logo returned to the Formula One scene by appearing on the Ferrari cars. In 2017, it was announced that Alfa Romeo would be Sauber’s title sponsors beginning in 2018 after entering into a technical and commercial partnership with the team. This year, Alfa Romeo rejoined Formula One as its own team, after Sauber was renamed as Alfa Romeo Racing.
Alfa Romeo’s car for the 2019 Formula One season is called the Alfa Romeo C38. The C38 is the first Sauber-engineered race car to be badged as an Alfa Romeo following the renaming of the Sauber team to Alfa Romeo Racing last February.
The 2019 F1 car is powered by a Ferrari 064 1.6L ( 98 cu in ) direct injection V6 turbocharged engine limited to 15,000 RPM in a mid-mounted, rear wheel drive layout. It uses the Ferrari kinetic and thermal energy recovery systems and has eight forward and one reverse gears. Check out the other important details of the Alfa Romeo C38:
| Engine | |
|---|---|
| Configuration | Ferrari Tipo 064 90º V6 |
| Location | Mid, longitudinally mounted |
| Weight | 145 kilo / 319.7 lbs |
| Construction | aluminium block and head |
| Displacement | 1,600 cc / 97.6 cu in |
| Bore / Stroke | 80.0 mm (3.1 in) / 53.0 mm (2.1 in) |
| Valvetrain | 4 valves / cylinder, DOHC |
| Fuel feed | Direct Fuel Injection |
| Lubrication | Dry sump |
| Aspiration | Turbo |
| Power | 740 bhp / 552 kW |
| BHP/Liter | 463 bhp / liter |
| Weight | 743 kilo / 1,638 lbs |
| Tyres (fr/r) | Pirelli P-Zero 305/670 – 13 / 405/670 – 13 |
| Performance Figures | |
|---|---|
| Combined Power | 901 bhp / 672 kW |
| Power to weight | 1.21 bhp / kg |
The full technical specifications of the Alfa Romeo C38 can be viewed at their website sauber-group.com
The team not only renamed itself as Alfa Romeo Racing beginning 2019 but they also got a new set of drivers to carry the brand. Sauber Alfa Romeo swapped rookie Charles Leclerc with Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen, making the 39-year old from Espoo, Finland the first world champion to race for the Swiss team since Jacques Villeneuve.
Dubbed as the “Iceman”, Raikkonen joined Formula One in 2001 as a regular driver for the Sauber-Petronas team. The following year, he moved to McLaren Mercedes where he became a championship contender. Raikkonen finished second in the Formula One championship behind Michael Schumacher in 2003 and Fernando Alonso in 2005. He finally won the Formula One World Championship in 2007 in his first season for Scuderia Ferrari.
After nine seasons in Formula One racing, the Iceman ventured to the World Rally Championships in 2010 and 2011 before making a comeback in the Formula One scene with team Lotus in 2012. Ferrari signed him back in 2013. After 113 winless Grand Prix races spanning nine year including his first stint with Ferrari, Raikkonen won the 2018 United States Grand Prix and finished the 2018 season in third place in the 2018 Drivers’ Championship. Despite his strong finish in the standings, Raikkonen is among the longshots in the current F1 betting on futures odds to win the 2019 Drivers’ Championship.
Raikkonen’s partner at Alfa Romeo is Ferrari Academy graduate Antonio Giovinazzi. The 25 year old from Martina Franca in Italy was Scuderia Ferrari’s third and reserve driver in 2017. Giovinazzi started as a kart driver, winning the Italian National Trophy 60cc and Euro Trophy 60 in 2006. In his maiden season at Formula Pilota China in 2012, Giovinazzi became the overall champion. The following year, he joined the FIA Formula 3 European Championship and the British Formula 3, finishing as runner-up in the 2015 FIA Formula 3 European Championship. Giovinazzi raced with Prema in the 2016 International GP series and finished with five wins and 8 overall podiums to finish runner-up during the season. Last February, Giovinazzi signed a deal to race full-time for Alfa Romeo Racing beginning 2019.
Here is the latest Drivers’ Standings as of 4/16/19:
| Ranking | Driver | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) | 68 |
| 2 | Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) | 62 |
| 3 | Max Verstappen (Red Bull) | 39 |
| 4 | Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) | 37 |
| 5 | Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) | 36 |
| 6 | Pierre Gasly (Red Bull) | 13 |
| 7 | Kimi Raikkonen (Alfa Romeo) | 12 |
| 8 | Lando Norris (McLaren) | 8 |
| 9 | Kevin Magnussen (Haas) | 8 |
| 10 | Nico Hulkenberg (Renault) | 6 |
| 11 | Daniel Ricciardo (Renault) | 6 |
| 12 | Sergio Perez (Racing Point) | 5 |
| 13 | Alex Albon (Toro Rosso) | 3 |
| 14 | Lance Stroll (Racing Point) | 2 |
| 15 | Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso) | 1 |
| 16 | Antonio Giovanazzi (Alfa Romeo) | 0 |
| 17 | Romain Grosjean (Haas) | 0 |
| 18 | Carlos Sainz Jnr (McLaren) | 0 |
| 19 | George Russell (Williams) | 0 |
| 20 | Robert Kubica (Williams) | 0 |
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