Alfa Romeo underestimated stopping car development in 2021

With the rule changes imminent, there were some teams that stopped the further development of their 2021 car early. This sometimes made it painfully clear that standing still in Formula 1 equals going backwards. Alfa Romeo now knows all about it.

Impact

Alfa Romeo decided early last season not to make any more updates to the car and to focus entirely on the 2022 car. In hindsight, team principal Fred Vasseur admitted to Motorsport.com, Alfa Romeo thereby underestimated the impact of this decision. The team therefore had to make do with virtually the same car for 22 races.

According to Vasseur, it was not an easy decision from a psychological point of view. He said that an update within the team always provides that little extra motivation. That did not happen, although he adds that everyone was definitely motivated to make the best of it.

Missed opportunity

In the end Alfa Romeo finished ninth in the Constructors' Championship. Although Williams overtook the team, Vasseur was not dissatisfied with the performance. He even felt that Alfa Romeo had taken a step forward compared to a year earlier. That Williams nevertheless passed them, he attributes to two missed opportunities in the rain of Spa and the spectacle of Hungary.