Improvement for Alfa Romeo in 2021 mainly depends on one external factor

The fact that Alfa Romeo was eighth in the final standings with only eight points last season was not so much their own merit, but proof of the Haas and Williams struggle. And therein lies a big part of the problem for Alfa Romeo, because it is no coincidence that two of the slowest teams drove with Ferrari engines last year.

Alfa Romeo very slow especially in qualifying

Ferrari was hit hard in 2020 by the FIA ​​guidelines that must ensure that the fuel supply is not tampered with. Thanks to an excellent performance from Charles Leclerc, the drama in Maranello was occasionally disguised, but their satellite teams struggled deeply.

This became painfully clear for Alfa Romeo, especially in the first half of the season. At top speed, they could not perform as well as possible, and it took a while to find the right setting to compensate for the lack of power. The team was particularly affected by this in qualifying and was therefore the slowest team in five of the first seven races.

Future collaboration with Ferrari and Alfa Romeo uncertain

Frederic Vasseur turned things around in that initial phase by stating that there was no specific problem and that improvements had to be sought in various areas. Later in the season, however, the team dared to openly criticise their engine supplier.

2021 is therefore a crucial year for the relationship between Ferrari and Alfa Romeo. The aerodynamic package of the cars remains largely unchanged and if it turns out that the Ferrari engine is still lacking power, Sauber (the team that still runs as Alfa Romeo) may look for another partner, especially as the partnership with Alfa Romeo after 2021 is still uncertain.

This article was written and originally published by Pelle on the Dutch edition of GPblog.com.