It was a season full of suffering for the Sauber-owned Alfa Romeo Racing Team, which suffered another significant decline compared to the previous season.
ADVERTISING
Article continues below this ad
The Swiss team collected a measly 8 points in 2020 and ended the season on P8. Therefore, many would have expected that a historic team like Sauber, which suffers such a bad stint, would make an ecstatic comeback in the follow-up campaign.
Formula 1 F1 – Qatar Grand Prix – Losail International Circuit, Lusail, Qatar – November 19, 2021 Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Raikkonen during practice REUTERS / Hamad I Mohammed
However, all of these expectations took a detour, as the misery could continue in 2021. With only two races left, Alfa Romeo is on P9 with 11 points. What’s even more disappointing is that they couldn’t beat Williams this time around. So what really happens at Sauber?
ADVERTISING
Article continues below this ad
This question was asked not only because of her poor performance, but also because of the recent financial crisis. In addition, quite a few parties, including Andretti Autosport, showed a willingness to buy out the fourth oldest racing team in F1 history.
Changes in the Alfa Romeo F1 team
There have been numerous changes to the ownership of Alfa Romeo Racing, according to F1 journalist Joe Saward.
Apparently, Sauber’s owner, Finn Rausing, initially owned the team through a firm called Longbow Finance, but quite a few investors in the company were suspicious of the partnership. This therefore forced Rausing to move to another company.
ADVERTISING
Article continues below this ad
Formula 1 F1 – Hungarian Grand Prix – Hungaroring, Budapest, Hungary – July 30, 2021 Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi in action during REUTERS / Florion Goga practice
“This is really not a good result considering the team has made significant investments in improvement work,” wrote Saward on his blog. This came from team owner Finn Rausing, who initially owned the team through a company called Longbow Finance, but later through another company called Islero Investments AG.
“The firms are very secretive, but it is widely believed that the change was caused by other investors in Longbow being dissatisfied with the ownership of the team.”
ADVERTISING
Article continues below this ad
With the arrival of 2 new riders next season, the pressure on Sauber’s shoulder may have eased somewhat; Valtteri Bottas, who has some important Mercedes F1 secrets up his sleeve, and Guanyu Zhou, who makes a hell of a lot of money. So will Alfa Romeo manage to end its poor form by next season?
View story: Love Is in the Paddock: F1 Brotherhood Rings for Valentine’s Day
Did you enjoy reading this article? Download our exclusive app for 24×7 coverage, latest memes and social media banter. Click here to download.
The post F1 journalist decodes the secret changes behind Sauber-run Alfa Romeo Racing first appeared on monter-une-startup.
