Alfa Romeo Sauber will introduce upgrades to its car in time for the Italian Grand Prix in two week’s time with more to follow.

The Swiss-based operation, which will drop the Alfa Romeo moniker at the end of the year, has had a difficult 2023.

It finished sixth in last year’s constructors’ championship but acknowledges that its performances waned in the latter part of the season.

With the rise of Aston Martin this year, and the recent upturn from McLaren, competition to reach the top 10 has been more ferocious, meaning points have been harder to come by.

After 12 races, it has accumulated just nine as it sits ahead only of Scuderia AlphaTauri in the constructors’ standings.

“We cannot compare this season with last season,” Alessandro Alunni Bravi, the team’s managing director, told Speedcafe.

“Last season, we reached P6, which was the best result in a decade for our team.

“But we also did, in the second part of the season, we did a step back, and so we started from that point.

“And the fight is really, you know, the pack is really tight; Aston Martin did a big step, now Aston Martin is fighting for the top three positions in the constructors’ championship.

“We expect that the competition will be higher each season. In Formula 1, each year, we raise the bar in terms of technology, in terms of investment.

“This is a continuous battle.”

Helping Bravi’s operation will be the introduction of new parts for the Italian Grand Prix.

“We have a plan already for the season,” the Spaniard explained.

“We expect the next big upgrade around Monza, and then of course another important upgrade around Suzuka. So we have our plan.

“What is important is that we have seen that we need the big upgrades; it’s not enough to have one-tenth,” he added, signalling the gains McLaren has made since the Austrian Grand Prix.

“Of course, where you need to recover, you need to be able to produce upgrades that allow you to do a significant step.

“It’s not micro, little developments, it’s not marginal gains for us. For us, it’s a matter of each time we introduce an update, it must give us between two- and three-tenths.

“This is a challenge because if it will be an easy task everybody will do it.”

Valtteri Bottas remains under contract with Alfa Romeo Sauber for 2024 and it is expected Zhou Guanyu will also remain, though his current deal expires at the end of 2023.