(Motorsports news) The Milanese manufacturer’s six-year partnership with Sauber is about to come to an end, and the Italian GP was its final domestic race. Alfa utilized the weekend to debut the spectacular new 33 Stradale, a car that reflects the sporty image that its engagement in Grand Prix racing is designed to create. The event was also marked by a unique livery incorporating the Italian flag.

There is little doubt that Alfa’s acquisition of Sauber was a major coup. The agreement, which was originally devised by the late Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Ferrari CEO Sergio Marchionne, saw Alfa serve as Sauber’s title sponsor for a single season in 2018 before taking full ownership of the team and chassis brand in 2019.

Previously, automakers had sponsored F1 teams, most notably Infiniti and Aston Martin with Red Bull Racing, but branding the team and car was unique. It was a cheap bargain because the Hinwil team didn’t have a lot of opportunities and was by far bottom in the constructors’ championship when it was arranged in 2017.

In addition to providing much-needed funds, Alfa was also a desirable brand that, in theory, would attract other sponsors as well as potential drivers. It was a complete success for Alfa, who gained a prominent position in Formula One at a fraction of the cost of creating its own power unit or funding a full works project.

Early on, Alfa even claimed one of the seats and held it in reserve for a Ferrari protégé. After Charles Leclerc initially accepted it, Antonio Giovinazzi received a nomination. Then, in the previous year, Audi bought Sauber. It was impossible for Alfa to continue its involvement with Sauber for the two remaining transitional years before the full Audi identity arrived in 2026 after a single season in 2023 to fulfill the contract.

Audi simply had no business investing in expanding the Swiss organization only to have a competing brand reap the rewards, albeit only briefly. The loss of the Sauber deal due to events beyond the control of the CEO of Alfa Romeo, Jean-Philippe Imparato, who left Peugeot at the beginning of 2021 when Stellantis was founded, was clearly disappointing.

The 55-year-old asserts, “In the end, it comes down to [Sauber’s] shareholders.” “And our job is to make decisions without having any, I would say, personal feelings about them or any emotion related to business. “The shareholders made a decision, and the least we can do is respect it and, by the way, support it.

Consequently, it was decided to make a business move. Who has something to say about that? Nobody. “My goal for Alfa Romeo is to modify the company’s electrification plan to accommodate this kind of choice. So there’s no need to be frustrated, but when you collaborate with someone for years in a field as outstanding as F1, it’s completely normal to have a connection with the other men.

“At Alfa Romeo, if you are not a human, you are dead. On that point, too, we concur. No frustration, then. When you display a vehicle like the 33 Stradale, you can see that we are competitive and unfazed by obstacles. Therefore, we need to determine the following move, and we are doing so.

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