The Sauber name will no longer figure among F1's entrants this season, with Alfa Romeo receiving the exclusive naming rights for the Swiss team.
Thus we should theoretically have a pair of Alfa Romeo-Ferraris on the grid in Melbourne, reviving an association between the two manufacturers that was first seen almost a century ago!
As a young driver racing for CMN (Costruzioni Meccaniche Nazionali), Enzo Ferrari caught the eye of car manufacturer Alfa Romeo in 1920, for which he would supply not only his driving skills but also his engineering talent.
In 1929, Ferrari fulfilled his dream of setting up his own race team, Scuderia Ferrari, which became Alfa Romeo's veritable racing department. However, financial constraints dissolved the outfit in 1937, but Alfa retained Ferrari as its sporting director.
Two years later, Ferrari left Alfa Romeo and set up Auto-Avio Costruzioni, a company supplying parts to other racing teams. After the war, in 1947, Ferrari founded the company bearing his name and went on to battle the mighty Alfa Romeos on the race track. And the rest is history…
