Alfa Romeo renews partnership with Sauber F1 for 2023

Alfa Romeo has renewed its commercial partnership deal with Sauber for 2023 according to the Italian manufacturer's CEO Jean-Philippe Imparato.

Alfa returned to F1 in 2018, partnering with the Swiss outfit in a naming rights deal that was extended last summer on the basis of a multi-year agreement.

However, the partnership is submitted to yearly assessments by Alfa Romeo.

"I have signed the renewal for 2023 this morning," Imparato said on Friday, quoted by Reuters.

"Every year in July we assess the situation. If in the future we realise we are not interested any more (in Formula One) or we don't have returns on our investments, we'll see what to do, but everything will be done in an orderly way."

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Sauber, which is owned by Islero Investments, the investment arm of Swedish billionaire Finn Reising, is currently in discussions with Audi over the sale of a 75% stake in the Hinwil-based company that operates the Alfa Romeo F1 team.

The investment would thus provide Audi with an entry into F1, a move that has been approved by Volkswagen along with Porsche's own initiative to join Grand Prix racing's grid through a partnership with Red Bull.

However, Audi and Porsche's involvements in F1 are expected to begin in 2026 when the sport ushers in its next generation power unit regulations.

That term potentially provides Sauber with several more years of partnership with Alfa Romeo.

"For the moment it [the Sauber partnership] is a fantastic, common vision," Imparato recently told website The Race.

"If one day something else occurs, it will not be a problem.

"We will develop ourselves in another way, in another world, always based in motorsport, for Alfa Romeo."

From 2018 to last year, Alfa was constrained to the lower tier of the field, with the team never finishing higher than eighth in the F1 Constructors' Championship.

However, the introduction this year of F1's new-generations cars and the arrival at Hinwil of F1 veteran Valtteri Bottas have boosted Alfa's results, with the Swiss outfit currently sitting sixth in the Constructors' standings.

Alfa's productive 2022 campaign has likely weighed positively on the legendary Quadrifoglio manufacturer's decision to extend its presence in F1.

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