Why did Alfa Romeo leave F1?

Alfa Romeo's partnership with the Sauber F1 team came to an end this year.

Why did Alfa Romeo leave F1?

Alfa Romeo C43 sidepod (Via IMAGO)

Alfa Romeo became a prominent name in F1 in recent years. The iconic carmaker served as the title sponsor of the Sauber F1 team. However, the Italian auto giant will not be seen on the F1 grid in 2024. The iconic carmaker was adored by many for some of the best-looking liveries in the sport which would be sorely missed next season. This begs the question, why did Alfa Romeo leave F1?

The iconic carmaker partnered with Sauber in 2018 as the title sponsor. Alfa Romeo took over the entire branding of the Swiss team the following season. Subsequently, the Sauber F1 Team was known as Alfa Romeo for five seasons till the end of 2023. However, Audi announced that it would enter F1 with Sauber in 2026 and make the Swiss outfit a works team for F1’s new era.

Audi planned to acquire a 75% stake in Sauber by 2026. This marked the inevitable end of Alfa Romeo’s deal with the Swiss team. Sauber announced that its partnership with the Italian carmaker would come to an end after the 2023 season. As the team prepared for Audi’s arrival. For 2024 and 2025, Sauber will be known as Stake F1 team KICK Sauber before it becomes a works team in 2026.

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Will Alfa Romeo return to F1?

Alfa Romeo initially held talks with Haas for a potential deal in 2024. However, the negotiations did not materialize as Alfa Romeo wasn’t satisfied with another branding deal. Alfa Romeo Managing Director Jean-Philippe Imparato made it clear that the carmaker wasn’t happy with paying double the price for such a deal.

Did we want to repeat the experience under the same conditions, sponsoring a team for more or less double the price? No, because I wasn’t bringing anything new to the table and I had money to put into developing my products... If I do it, I’m not doing it as a sponsor, I’m doing it as an owner.
Jean-Philippe Imparato told Ouest France
Valtteri Bottas driving the Alfa Romeo C43 (image via Motorsport.com)
Valtteri Bottas driving the Alfa Romeo C43 (image via Motorsport.com)

The Italian carmaker seems to be interested in having much more involvement in a racing project. However, Alfa Romeo does not have such an opportunity available on the F1 grid. Subsequently, the Italian auto giant has hinted that it could make a potential return to the World Endurance Championship as a manufacturer.

It seems that fans would need to wait for a while before Alfa Romeo returns to Formula 1. However, the iconic carmaker might soon be racing in other categories with much more involvement than its deal with Sauber. As such, Alfa Romeo fans would be looking forward to seeing the carmaker potentially race at Le Mans in the coming years.

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