Sauber C37 rear, 2018

Alfa Romeo make Sauber more ‘attractive’ says Vasseur as new car has first run

2018 F1 season

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Sauber team principal Frederic Vasseur says their new alliance with Alfa Romeo will make them a more attractive team.

“Alfa Romeo is not just a matter of sponsorship, it’s much more a partnership,” he said. “It means that we will be much more attractive for everybody, for the media, for the sponsors also.”

Sauber C37, 2018
Pictures: Sauber C37 launch
“But it’s also and mainly a huge motivation for the team to have an iconic brand with us.”

Alfa Romeo’s branding features prominently on the engine cover of the new Sauber C37 which was revealed by the team yesterday. Vasseur described the team’s livery as “a good mix between the white, which is part of the DNA of Sauber over the last 20 years, and at the other end the iconic Alfa Romeo red.”

The new support from Alfa Romeo comes as the team return to using current-specification Ferrari engines. However Vasseur acknowledged they need to made other gains to make progress in 2018.

“The most obvious development was the get the engine of the [current] year, that’s the first point,” he said. “But we know perfectly that we have to work on every single area and every single department of the company.”

“We are mainly focused on the aero because it’s a key topic for the performance but we are recruiting in every single department of the company.”

The new car ran on-track for the first time at the Circuit de Catalunya today with Marcus Ericsson at the wheel:

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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12 comments on “Alfa Romeo make Sauber more ‘attractive’ says Vasseur as new car has first run”

  1. Oh my, the rear view looks glorious. I wish the current generation of cars looked that good from any angle though… *sigh*

    1. I’d say it’s the best looking rear view thanks not only to the wider track and massive tyres but also the evocative Alfa Romeo font. Reminds me of the late 70s Alfa Romeo-powered Brabhams:

  2. It just signifies to fans that Sauber is a sattelite or B team which maybe good depending on talent that placed behind the wheel of that car.

    1. Exactly! It also probably means Alfa Romeo is paying less than they should have to become a title sponsor.

  3. Wish them well

    But starting your season with the 2017 engine that wasnt up to snuff with the superior Mercedes then, does little to stir my feelings about their chances in 2018.

    So many implausible events would have to happen for Sauber to win let alone be considered Championship material.

    Call them mobile chicanes

    1. They’re not using the 2017 engine. Don’t you think it would be counterproductive to the new Alfa Romeo sponsorship deal to restrict Sauber to a previous generation engine?

      1. If there’s not enough 2018 engines, you bet they’ll be using the 2017 engine.

        1. And why shouldn’t there be enough 2018 engines? Besides, it’s not exactly plug and play, you have to change the car to change the engine generation.

          1. Exactly the whole car design is based around the 2018 Ferrari engine. No idea where people are getting the idea 2017 engines are ever likely to be used, never been mentioned anywhere else.

  4. I’ll soon get used to those white halos, but it looked like there was nobody driving that!

  5. I think the rear view of the new Sauber in Alfa colors might just be the prettiest, most breath taking photo of an F1 car I’ve ever seen. If it were as good on track as it looks from the rear it would be the 2018 championship winner.
    And I’ve never even given Sauber a second thought during my 7 years of being a fan.

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