Alfa Romeo team principal Alessandro Alunni Bravi has confirmed that “wrong targets” set last winter will result in a “completely new car” for next season.
The current campaign, of what is the last in a five-year partnership with Alfa Romeo, has been a struggle for the Switzerland-based Sauber organisation that for the next two years will operate under a new name before Audi takes over in 2026.
After hitting the ground running last season following the introduction of new aerodynamic regulations, Alfa Romeo faded badly and just managed to hold onto sixth place in the constructors’ championship.
Hope the team had again found the right path last winter rapidly faded once the C43 hit the track and the realisation it had taken a wrong turn in development that ultimately resulted in a dead end.
With the arrival of James Key as technical director in September, he quickly determined that a radical change was required.
“It’s clear we set the wrong targets during the winter,” said Alunni Bravi, speaking to Speedcafe.
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“We developed our car compared to last year’s car, but immediately at the launch of the car in Bahrain, we understood the level of the car was low compared to our direct competitors.
“We have developed the car throughout the season, and we have improved a lot, but, of course, the starting point was not sufficient.
“We have struggled to follow the competition during the season. We have tried to recover the gap by developing the car until the very last race.”
Alunni Bravi has confirmed the cars will run with new front wings in Abu Dhabi as it builds into next season when it looks to make the gains with a renewed concept that it failed to achieve this season.
It has resulted in the team slumping to ninth position in the constructors’ standings.
“We developed the car this year but when we brought new parts we only had marginal gains,” said Alunni Bravi. “We were unable to make a step, like AlphaTauri, or, like McLaren, a big step.
“We understood this was linked to this concept of the car. There is no more margin to develop further, and this is the reason why we have decided, and James Key decided after an assessment in September, to have a completely new car for next year in terms of concept.
“We will work on all areas, from the monocoque to the suspension, so on the aerodynamic side a new car, and we hope that will be a bigger step, but also that the concept itself will give us more leeway to develop during the season.”
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