Team analysis | Alfa Romeo takes steps forward ahead of 2022 F1 season

With only a few days to go until the new Formula 1 season gets underway, it's time to take a look at how the different teams are doing after the pre-season tests in Barcelona and Bahrain. This time we look at the number nine team of 2021: Alfa Romeo.

2021 F1 season

Alfa Romeo had a rather colorless season in 2021, but nevertheless managed to score points six times. It resulted in ninth place in the championship and a total of thirteen points, ten of which went to Kimi Raikkonen and three to Antonio Giovinazzi.

Both drivers left Formula 1 after the end of the season, so the team will start with two new drivers. With the experienced Valtteri Bottas and the young talent Guanyu Zhou, Alfa Romeo hopes to move further forward in 2022.

Pre-season tests

For Alfa Romeo, there was a world of difference between the pre-season test in Barcelona and the one in Bahrain. Whereas in Barcelona the Swiss racing team only managed to complete 175 laps and was hampered by technical problems for two of the three days, in Bahrain the team covered almost double the number of laps.

So in two weeks the team has made great strides, as Bottas, Zhou and Kubica were particularly productive at the Bahrain International Circuit. For Alfa Romeo, it counts mainly as catching up, as most other teams had a more successful test in Barcelona.

This catching up is clearly visible in the results of the pre-season test in Bahrain. Where Alfa Romeo ended the test days in Barcelona on P16, P20 and P21, Bottas and Zhou finished in Bahrain on the sixth and fourteenth place respectively.

Alfa Romeo in 2022

The 2022 Formula 1 season is still a big question mark for all teams given the revised regulations, but Alfa Romeo is keen to move beyond ninth place in the constructors' championship.

At the Swiss racing stable, most eyes will be on Williams, which finished eighth in 2021 with a ten-point lead. For its part, the Williams team is on a resurgence, after reaching an all-time low that continued until the team got a new owner.

Expectations

At the same time, Alfa Romeo will also have to look backwards. Haas does not seem to have a very stable car yet, but the team did not spend the entire 2021 season developing the 2022 car for nothing. The American race stable is keen to start scoring points, so it is certainly a factor to consider.

Alfa Romeo is hoping to further develop the C42 car with the help of Bottas, Zhou and test driver Kubica and thus move up in the standings. The Bahrain Grand Prix will show whether the differences between Williams, Alfa Romeo and Haas have narrowed and whether the teams are evenly matched.