The team confirmed this Wednesday that its new single-seater, called the C42 , will be officially presented on February 27, two days after the end of the first week of testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
According to Alfa Romeo, the C42 car “will be unveiled in full livery in a digital presentation, with images and videos released to the public and media” on the morning of February 27.
Therefore, the team is expected to use the C42 with a special livery for the first pre-season tests, which will take place from February 23 to 25 in Montmeló .
Alfa Romeo heads into the 2022 season with a completely new line-up featuring former Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas and Chinese Formula 2 newcomer Guanyu Zhou.
Both drivers will have the opportunity to test the car during the three days in Barcelona before its official presentation, which will be followed by the second week of pre-season at the Bahrain International Circuit from March 10 to 12 before the 20th there the first race.
This makes Alfa Romeo the seventh team to officially confirm its plans for an introduction ahead of the new season. Red Bull, Williams and Haas F1 are the only ones that have not yet announced when they will unveil their new cars for 2022.
Bottas and Zhou replace Kimi Raikkonen (retired) and Antonio Giovinazzi (now in Formula E ) for the 2022 season, and will look to step up alongside the team after an unlucky 2021 in which Alfa Romeo finished ninth in the race. constructors’ championship, penultimate.
Zhou’s arrival will bring significant financial backing to the Swiss-based team thanks to sponsorship from China, allowing them to come close to the budget cap. Team principal Frederic Vasseur told Motorsport.com in December that he believes that will result in a “different mindset” for his team moving forward.
In addition, the team has undergone a subtle name change for the new season, from Alfa Romeo Racing to Alfa Romeo F1 Team , and will continue with Orlen’s main sponsorship, which goes hand in hand with its reserve driver Robert Kubica.
Alfa Romeo previously conducted tests in February with a special Valentine’s Day livery , in both 2019 and 2020.
