Presentations of new cars: Alfa Romeo C43

On February 7, the team from Hinwil, Switzerland, unveiled the C43, their latest car built under the Alfa Romeo brand, marking the start of a new chapter in Sauber’s history, linked to a strategic alliance with Audi.

But all this is in the future, but for now the team is still called Alfa Romeo and was the first to show images of the real car in 2023, and demonstrated “live” the appearance of the C43 during the presentation, although it was only a show car.

By the way, the presentation in Zurich was organized according to the classic scenario: fans sat in the studio, management representatives and team drivers spoke for them, ie everything was as before, with only one difference: everyone saw the car only on the screen.

However, this did not stop everyone from appreciating that she looks really impressive. The team has a new title partner, Stake, and this has influenced the choice of colors – it’s gone red and black. The design of the car was developed by specialists of the Alfa Romeo Centro Stile design center.

Alessandro Alunni BraviSauber Group Managing Director and team spokesman: “Creating a car is a long process involving all departments of the team, so today’s presentation gives everyone a sense of pride.

We have decided to present the C43 to our fans not far from the base of the team, because the presentation of a new car is not only the moment when we announce our goals for the upcoming season. This is also the time when we can do something for the people who support us from the grandstands at the track or in front of the TV screens. We would like to thank them all for their commitment to our team and their confidence in our project.

The new car is the result of many months of work, but today this journey has only just begun: we have to keep working hard to achieve high results on the track. Everyone on our team is fully focused on achieving this goal and we are confident that our efforts will be rewarded.”

According to Alfa Romeo technical director Jean Monchaux, he and his team have focused on upgrading the rear of the car, including the rear suspension, plus changes to the gearbox housing. Side pontoons can also be seen on the C43, reminiscent of this area on last year’s Red Bull Racing car. However, Monchaux emphasized that the changes affected only a few parts of the chassis and that the C43 is an evolution of the previous model.

Jean Moncho: “We focused particularly on the rear of the car, where we wanted to take a bold approach and take the next step in terms of modernisation. This opened the way for us to execute on a lot of other decisions that we couldn’t execute last year.

The concept we followed in 2022 kind of reached a plateau and in order to find new efficiency reserves we had to make all these changes. We did it very seriously, because it was necessary to recreate rather large and complex parts of the machine. Since our efforts were mainly focused on the rear of the car, we will be working on modernizing the front during the season.”

Monchaux and other team leaders, including Andreas Seidl, who recently took over the Sauber Group – he attended the presentation, sat in the front row, but did not make any speeches – hope the new car will allow the team’s drivers to place regularly to compete in the top ten. Racers count on it, of course.

Valttery Bottas: “The C43 is finally here and I can’t wait to hit the track with it. I really like our new war paint – I just think the car looks cool!

My first season with the team was interesting, together we made steady progress and now we have only one task left: to go further, to perform better, to show better results.

Of course there is a lot of work to be done, we have a lot to add, but I am convinced that we have to set ourselves high goals this year. I want to be at the start as soon as possible, I am full of energy and strength and I am ready for the new season.”

Guanyu Zhou: “After all the work we’ve done behind the scenes over the past few months, I’m excited to finally see the C43 at launch. I think it looks great and I’m looking forward to driving a new car in a few days in Barcelona before winter testing starts in Bahrain.

Last year, the team tried from the beginning to make me feel at home: I was very well received and given time to study and improve my professional skills. Of course we have higher expectations this year and I will try to apply all the experience gained in the debut season. I am very happy with the prospects that are opening up and I am ready to attack!”

Theo Purscher, reserve driver: “First of all, I am grateful to be participating for the first time in the presentation of a Formula 1 car as a reserve driver for the team, and for me it is a great honor. It’s great to see all the effort paid off and I’m looking forward to the start of the season.

I’ve seen how much work it took to make it all the way from the C43 blueprints to the new machine, and I’m happy for everyone working at the Hinwil base. I think everyone did a great job and of course everyone has high expectations. I want to see the car on the track as soon as possible, and in a few days it will happen.

I feel like I’m part of a big and great family, it’s a great team and I’m determined to do everything I can to make sure we achieve the best possible results together.”

Before being sent to winter testing in Bahrain, the C43 will have its first run-in in Barcelona this week and the team will also film for a day, allowed by the regulations. And the show car, shown today to everyone who attended Alfa Romeo’s presentation, will then be auctioned and someone will become the owner of this unique artifact.