Holding on to sixth place in this year's constructors championship has been hailed by Alfa Romeo managing director Frédéric Vasseur as a huge boost for the team heading into 2023.
Alfa ended up tied on points in the standings with Aston Martin, but took P6 on countback largely thanks to Valtteri Bottas finishing the Emilia Romagna Grand prix in fifth place at Imola in April.
The team had a weaker second half of the season, but top ten finishes for Bottas in Mexico and Brazil meant they just succeeded in retaining sixth in the final standings despite scoring no points in the season finale at Abu Dhabi.
It's not just a matter of honour or prestige: the position also comes with it significantly more prize money, which will make a big difference to the team's plans for next season.
"It's the best way for us to have a good winter, because everybody will be on a positive mood," Vasseur told Motorsport.com this week. "This is very important.
"On top of this it's always crucial I think to have this kind of fight for us with Aston Martin," he continued. "In terms of target it's a good one. And for sure, it will be also very helpful on the financial side.
"As we are [spending] below the cost cap, every single push will be a big difference," he acknowledged. "We will see next year, but for sure it will help.
"I know that some teams said that with $2m you can do nothing, but with $10m we will be able to do a lot!"
Although the team didn't secure any points last weekend, Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu played a crucial role in thwarting their rivals, limiting Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll to just five points resulting in the end-of-season tie.
Bottas said on the night that he was proud of everyone in the team for what they had managed by their defensive strategy.
"They did a great job on managing the situation with Vettel and Stroll," agreed Vasseur. "And for sure we can thank them at the end when we see that Vettel is fighting with [McLaren's Daniel] Ricciardo.
"If we'd a better quali I think we'd have a fight on our own to score points," Vasseur suggested. "But with the quali we had we had no other option but to try to control a little bit the situation with the strategy. And we did it well."
Their efforts were nearly undone when Vettel and Stroll were promoted to P10 and P8 respectively by Lewis Hamilton's late retirement from the race with hydraulic issues.
"I was quite relaxed on the pit wall until the issue for Lewis," Vasseur admitted. "They both improved by one position, and it became a bit more tricky.
"It was more than tight!" he added. "The last couple of laps, I was the biggest fan of Daniel! For sure if Vettel had been able to overtake Daniel it would have been another story.
"But for us at the end it's a great achievement," he concluded. "And also the best preparation for next year."
Next season will be the final one for the Alfa Romeo partnership with Sauber, which operates the race team.
While Alfa Romeo's future in F1 is currently uncertain, Sauber will be pairing with Audi as the German manufacturer's works team from 2026.
And there has been speculation about Vasseur';s future at Hinwil, with the Frenchman rumoured to be n the running to take over at Ferrari if current team principal Mattia Binotto exits his post over the off-season.
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