After a mixed 2019, the Alpha – Alfa rivalry is on for 2020 – so will it be Beta Tauri or Beta Romeo come Abu Dhabi in November…?
After designing an aggressive looking car and a promising pre season test, last season flattered to deceive for Alfa Romeo. I honestly expected a little more from Alfa last year, especially considering the pace they showed at the end of 2018. And then there was the signing of a resurgent Kimi Raikkonen, coming off the back of his first win 113 years..uh races (sorry Crofty). 2019 then, should’ve been another year of points building back into something great for effectively the same Sauber team. Was it a case of not understanding what you’ve designed, or the midfield taking a larger step forward than expected? Either way, I’m not entirely sure Alfa Romeo would’ve been incredibly pleased with their 2019 as a whole.
But then we move to 2020, and Alfa Romeo produce their best livery so far. Promising. Tie that in with Giovinazzi’s end of 2019’s season form and 2020 should be a big reason for hope of improved fortunes. Keeping the same-ish design but dropping the blue, and playing around with sidepod design. At the time I think I only tweeted one word – better. And while 2020 is the last year of this set of regulations, they’d still hope 2020 is better. Goodness only knows what’s going in that midfield this year, and even despite me writing this rather late in the pre season. I never like to speculate after testing; these pieces are always more fun when you’re in the dark, but uni work has screwed me this year, hence it’s so late. Apologies. Nonetheless, with the hindsight of testing now taken into account, Alfa Romeo are one of the biggest enigmas coming out of the 2 weeks at Barcelona. One thing is for certain though, Kimi and the leadership of Fréd Vasseur, should surely mean there are solid foundations being built. Giovinazzi should turn out to be a solid driver too, so there’s plenty to work with for sure. Who knows how long Kimi will stick around for, it is his hobby after all, but if they can get their house in order well ahead of next year, then who knows what the future holds for the iconic Swiss-Italian outfit.
After being under immense pressure after a below par start to the season, Giovinazzi put in some superb performances and showed he’s worth at least another season next to Kimi, besides it would’ve been difficult to see where he would’ve been replaced; Mick Schumacher is a little while away from the top, hopefully he performs well in F2 after a solid rookie year. Gio was on a level with Kimi by the end of the season and if he keeps those performances up, it’s hard to see him not getting a seat for 2021 onwards. Who knows, the silly season supposedly should be a cracker, but will probably be up there for biggest let-downs since any French GP around Paul Ricard. I fully expect Gio to take another step forward after a solid full rookie year.
Kimi will be Kimi. The known quantity you need to have in a team like Alfa Romeo. Will we see the same unrelenting pace from Kimi that we’re used to all season long? Who knows, he is 41 this year, but I wouldn’t bet against it. As long as Kimi still finds it rewarding it would be difficult to pass on him for 2021. If I wanted any team mate as a young driver at the start of a career it’d be Kimi. In terms of who comes out victorious out of the teammates this year, you’d have to say Kimi, but it will be a rivalry that goes under the radar, and I certainly think it will be closer than it was for the most of 2019.
I normally would’ve backed Alfa Romeo for 6th place, but after the release of the rapid Racing Point, I don’t think I can be that generous. For sure there are some good targets to aim for, Haas haven’t grabbed the headlines, and so if they can be comfortably ahead of them, that’s a solid season as far as I’m concerned. It might well be wise to say cut the 2020 losses, and focus on 2021 as it’s difficult to see Alfa Romeo in the higher echelons of the points. Don’t lose your hope with Alfa Romeo in 2020 though.
George Talks 