The Alfa Romeo Formula One team has revealed its new car for 2023, the C43, via an online launch.
The team, which is run by Sauber and now part-owned by Audi, has switched to a black and red livery, featuring large areas of bare carbon fibre, for the last year of its Alfa Romeo sponsorship.
Under the livery, the team has focused on developing the aerodynamic concept of last year’s car by overhauling its rear suspension design, which in turn has allowed for a new cooling package and bodywork shapes.
“We decided to change the rear suspension, so also the gearbox casing and that then opens the door to new cooling layouts, which themselves once in place, allowed us to develop the bodywork in ways that last year was not possible,” technical director Jan Monchaux said.
“The concept we followed last year, we felt had come to a plateau and to unleash the next level of performance we had to do all these changes.
“It has been quite a journey for us because it was a big, complex part we had to re-do and then evidently how all the rear end works with the floor alongside the new regs. So we have really been putting a lot of effort on the rear end of the car while the front will be successively developed during the season.”
The car is due to make its track debut at a shakedown at the Circuit de Catalunya later this week.
The livery was designed by Alfa Romeo in Turin as the team’s partnership with the Italian car manufacturer enters its final year this season. From 2026, the Sauber team will be majority owned and run by Audi.
Former McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl has been appointed as managing director to lead the team into its new era while Alessandro Alunni Bravi has been appointed team representative.
Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu remain as the team’s drivers in 2023.