Alfa Romeo hoping to keep same driver line-up for 2024

Alfa Romeo F1 team representative Alessando Alunni Bravi says the Swiss outfit hopes to keep its driver line-up unchanged for 2024, but it must be a "win-win situation" for all parties.

F1 veteran and ten-time Grand Prix winner Valtteri Bottas has been paired with young Chinese hopeful Zhou Guanyu since last year when they carried Alfa to sixth in F1's Constructors' championship.

But the Hinwil squad has significantly regressed this season, the second of the sport's ground-effect regulations, and currently sits ninth, or next to last in the standings.

Bottas in contracted to the team until the end of 2024, but Zhou's deal will expire at the end of the current season.

However, Alunni Bravi is in favour of maintain the team's stability in terms of its driver line-up, or at least under certain conditions.

"Of course, we always said that stability for us is important," he said.

"We are a team that is in a transformation process, and we try to be as much stable as possible in all areas. Of course, we are looking for improvement and opportunities.

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"There will be time after the summer shutdown to sit down with Zhou and look at what will be the best solution for both of us.

"Our target is to keep both drivers in our team next year but, of course, there must be all the elements in place to have a win-win situation."

The Sauber-ran operation's commercial partnership with Alfa Romeo will conclude at the end of 2023, so the team is likely to run next year under its original name, just as it ramps up its collaboration with Audi, its future majority shareholder that will officially enter F1 in 2026.

Audi announced last June that a one-cylinder mule engine had been tested and that a full-specification power unit would be running on its dyno by the start of 2024.

However, widespread speculation recently emerged that the Ingolstadt firm's F1 engine programme is running behind schedule.

But Alunni Bravi moved to dismiss the hearsay and ensured that Audi and Sauber's plans are "still on the right route".

"First of all, I'm happy to hear that the Audi project is behind the shadow," the Italian said tongue in cheek.

"We don't have this kind of information and it’s always difficult from the external people to understand what is the status of development of such an important programme like a new PU manufacturer entering to Formula 1.

"So, concerning our programme, the programme is on the right route. We are working hard to develop the team in these next two seasons.

"We know there are constraints linked also to the financial regulations but we are, with Andreas Seidl [Sauber CEO] addressing all our weaknesses and trying to seek all the best opportunities in the market to bring quality into our team and to develop our facilities.

"So, there is no change for us, nor for Audi."

Word of a possible delay hitting Audi's engine development efforts cropped up just a month after Audi's supervisory board removed CEO Markus Duesmann, the man who initially greenlighted the manufacturer's involvement in F1.

"The Audi project is based not on a single individual but is a project for all the company that has been, I would say, welcome at any level. I think that there is no change," commented Alunni Bravi.

"We work as a team, all together, to be ready for 2026. This doesn't mean that the challenge is easy.

"We have such strong competitors. Wwe need to be really humble and to work on a daily basis at our best because the competition is extremely high for everybody, and especially in the PU manufacturer side.

"I think that the competition in 2026 will be really, really strong. So. we just need to be focused on our job and nothing has changed with the departure of Mr Duesmann."

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