Good form continued through the first nine rounds, with notable performances from Bottas coming in Imola, Spain and Canada – Zhou trailing shortly behind. But after China’s first F1 driver suffered a dramatic crash during the start of the British Grand Prix, colliding with George Russell and flipping his Alfa Romeo at the start, the team’s form dropped dramatically.
Starting in Great Britain, Alfa Romeo endured a scoring drought that spanned six races before Zhou was able to pick up a single point at the Italian Grand Prix – his last top ten finish of the season. Elsewhere Bottas struggled with reliability, but was able to rescue the team as the season reached its closing stages, finishing tenth in Mexico and ninth in Brazil – securing Alfa Romeo sixth place in the constructors’ standings.
The team’s reliability issues were seemingly the main cause of its underperformance in the 2022 campaign, with both drivers suffering six retirements each over the course of the season.
2023: Building toward the future
Alfa Romeo is set to end its F1 ties at the end of the 2023 season, parting ways with the Sauber Group. Whilst all eyes are now pointed towards 2026 when Sauber will partner with Audi, the team will still hope to improve its performance in the coming season, fixing reliability issues and building upon the positive performances of Bottas to bring it closer to the front of the midfield.
The departure of Vasseur means the team will technically have no team principal for the 2023 season, instead relying on team representative Alunni Bravi. It remains to be seen how the new management structure works, with Seidl now working as CEO.
The former McLaren team bosshas been tasked with overseeing Sauber’s transition to an Audi F1 works team in 2026, as the German car giant enters the series for the first time.
Now 33, its unlikely that Bottas will be part of Audi’s plans, with his latest F1 contract expiring in 2025. But for Zhou, improved performance in 2023 could help in convincing teams of his value – his F1 future under threat from a contract that expires at the end of the season.
Alfa Romeo 2023 F1 driver line-up
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 |
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| Valtteri Bottas | Zhou Guanyu |
- Bottas contracted with the team until 2025.
- Zhou contracted with the team until the end of 2023.
- Theo Pourchaire acting as reserve driver for 2023 season
Key personnel
Sauber CEO: Andreas Seidl
Joining McLaren in 2019, Seidl arrived in F1 on a cloud of success after guiding Porsche’s LMP1 programme back to the top of the World Endurance Championship. Regarded as a serial winner, the German was appointed as team principal, tasked with returning McLaren to its former title winning glory.
Although he was unsuccessful there, he has a very similar requirement at Sauber, joining as CEO in January 2023. Unlike most team bosses, it’s likely Seidl won’t be too interested in Alfa Romeo’s on-track success in 2023, instead concentrating on Audi’s integration into the series in 2026.
Alfa Romeo team representative: Alessandro Alunni Bravi
Extending from his role as Managing Director of Alfa Romeo, Bravi will also be its F1 representative in 2023. The Italian has extensive motorsport experience and has been part of the Sauber board since 2017, making him an ideal and reliable replacement to Vasseur in running day-to-day operations.
Previously undertaking roles in team and driver management, Bravi has all the tools required to successfully guide Alfa Romeo to an improved season in 2023, but his appointment is seemingly a temporary measure.