The C41, the latest contender created by Sauber Motorsport, which manages and operates the Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN team in the Formula One championship, was launched in Warsaw this morning.
A ceremony was held at the Grand Theatre, in Poland’s capital city, and saw a limited number of people in attendance, with media, fans and team employees being invited to watch virtually in respect of the local Covid regulations.
Kimi Räikkönen and Antonio Giovinazzi make up the 2021 driver lineup, with Robert Kubica as reserve driver.
The C41, featuring a novel colour scheme, and designed by Alfa Romeo’s Centro Stile and features the now traditional red and white colours of the team, and represents an evolution of the C39 which competed in the 2020 season.
Due to the restrictions imposed by new regulations, the car carries over many of the components of its predecessor, while still striking with its renewed appearance, in particular in regard to the nose cone, an area on which the team chose to focus its development tokens.
Under the bodywork of the 2021 challenger, is a new Ferrari engine which will take to the track in just under a week, when the team starts into the new season with the C41’s shakedown in Barcelona.
Speaking about the launch, Frédéric Vasseur, Team Principal Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN and CEO Sauber Motorsport AG said:
“The launch of a new car is always an emotional moment, the culmination of months of effort from everyone back at the factory and the start of a new adventure.
“I think the philosophy upon which the team is based remains the same – we have to do a better job tomorrow than we are doing today. We finished last season in P8, so we have to target a better result in 2021.
“To do so, we have to keep improving in each department, trackside and back at HQ.
“Every team on the grid has very high expectations right now: all the teams expect to do a good job in the winter and to be in a good position for the first race, but soon it will be the time for everyone to show their cards.”
Jan Monchaux, Technical Director Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN added:
“The C41 is the result of a very unusual situation in Formula One, in which the regulations have made us unable to develop an entire new car for this year.
“For this reason, our 2021 car shares a lot of common parts with the C39, with the exception of those which the regulations forced us to change – such as the floor – and the nosecone, in which we invested our two development tokens.
“This means we will know the car much better than usual when we get to testing, but it’s still going to be crucial to make the most of those three days to verify that reality matches our expectations and to get to know the new tyres. We are ready for the new season and we can’t wait to see our new car on track.”
