Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN has revealed a teaser image of their 2022 C42 F1 car, which will be unveiled during F1’s first preseason test in Barcelona on Sunday, February 27th. The car will not include Ferrari’s gearbox or rear suspension.
The Alfa Romeo’s all-new C42, on the other hand, is anticipated to make its debut at the Circuit de Catalunya during F1’s three-day shakedown on February 23-25.
The Hinwil based outfit has always unveiled its new car in a special shakedown livery ahead of pre-season testing, and it is expected to do so again in Barcelona.
“The new car, the first built by the team for the new Formula One regulations, will be unveiled in its full livery through a digital launch, with images and videos released to the public and media at 9am CET,” said Alfa Romeo.
Alfa Romeo F1, under team principal Frederic Vasseur, will enter the 2022 season with a new driver lineup that combines experience and young, with Valtteri Bottas, a former Mercedes driver, coupled with Chinese rookie Guanyu Zhou taking the two seats.
The new car will be powered by Ferrari once again, with Alfa Romeo continuing their partnership, although it will lack Ferrari’s gearbox and rear suspension.
The Hinwil team “decided to develop the gearbox and the rear suspension on their own, aiming at a different construction philosophy than the one pursued at Maranello,” according to the Italian edition of Motorsport.com.
The C42 will also feature a “different wheelbase,” which is claimed to be shorter than Ferrari’s, as well as a different rear tie rod.
Alfa Romeo wants to “loosen links” with Ferrari, according to the article, and wants “more design autonomy that returns it to being a real manufacturer, provided it will no longer acquire the gearbox and rear suspension from the’supermarket’ in Maranello, only the engine unit.”
