Okay, so, I’ve been digging into this whole Alfa Romeo leaving F1 thing, and man, it’s a bit of a rabbit hole. I was watching some old races, and I was like, “Wait, where’s Alfa Romeo?” It got me thinking. I started poking around, trying to piece together what happened. I mean, these guys were a big deal, right?
So, first, I went back to when they actually came back to F1. It was only in 2018, after like, a 30-year break. I went to find out what happened before 2018. I found that they were apparently losing a ton of money in the early ’80s. I guess that’s why they initially scaled back their F1 involvement, just supplying parts and engines to Euroracing. It’s like, “We can’t afford to race ourselves, but here, have some engines.”
Then, I learned that way back in the 1930s, things went south financially, and they ended up dissolving their team. But, get this, they kept Ferrari on as their sporting director. That’s like a soap opera twist! But then, a couple of years later, Ferrari bailed on Alfa Romeo and started his own thing, Auto-Avio Costruzioni, selling parts to other racing teams. That’s how the Ferrari team was born. Isn’t it crazy?
Fast forward to now, and I’m reading up on the current situation. I stumbled upon an interview or something with the Alfa Romeo CEO, Jean-Philippe Imperato. Apparently, he said no to keeping the Alfa Romeo name in F1 for 2024. That’s huge. It seems like it was a business decision, not some dramatic falling out.
Now, here’s where it gets a little complicated. Sauber, the team they were partnered with, is now partly owned by Audi, which is under the VW umbrella. And, Audi is planning their own big F1 project for 2026. So, it kind of makes sense that the Alfa Romeo deal with Sauber ended. It was a commercial partnership, you know? From 2019 to 2023, Sauber was basically called Alfa Romeo because of that deal. But now, they’re going by Stake F1 Team. It’s all about the sponsors, I guess.
So, here’s the gist of what I figured out:
- Alfa Romeo used to be big in racing but had money issues way back when, like, almost a century ago.
- They made a comeback to F1 in 2018 after a long break, but that was mainly a branding deal with Sauber.
- The CEO decided not to renew the deal for 2024, probably because Audi is stepping in.
- Sauber is now called Stake F1 Team.
It’s a bit sad to see them go, but honestly, it seems like it was just time for a change. It’s all business at the end of the day, I think. It’s still a bummer though. I just wanted to share my little investigation with you guys. It was a fun little trip down F1 memory lane, even if it ended a bit abruptly.
