“For us it’s crucial”- Fred Vasseur says Alfa Romeo is vital for team survival

“For us it’s crucial”- Fred Vasseur reveals that Alfa Romeo’s name tag is important for the F1 team for its survival and future.

The team formerly known as Sauber renamed itself as Alfa Romeo in 2019, while first carrying the Italian brand ties in 2018. The move came on the course of close allies with Alfa Romeo’s sister brand Ferarri, which includes purchasing gearboxes, engines and other crucial services.

This was the first significant decision made by Fred Vasseur after first taking charge of the outfit in 2017. Vasseur has called the increasing ties with the Alfa Romeo brand essential to the team’s development.

“For us it’s crucial,” Vasseur said when asked by Autosport about the Alfa tie-up. “I don’t want to speak about the financial aspect, but for sure it’s a part of this.”

“It’s rather the motivation that you can add into the team, that you can afford the recruiting for the development of the company.” he further added.

“The fact that Alfa Romeo, the first world champion, is extending the deal with us and wants to develop the partnership is a nice reward, but it’s not just a reward, it’s the next step for us.”

Need for global approach and package

The Sauber and Alfa Romeo partnership is not limited to F1 only, as Sauber is also involved in developing the Alfa Romeo Giulia GTA and GTAm road cars using its Hinwil wind tunnel facility.

“Even if it’s outside of the Formula 1 world, I think it’s important to build up a strong collaboration between the two companies, and it’s also the future of the collaboration that we have to continue to push into this direction.

“For sure I know perfectly [well] that we also need to improve the performance on the track, that it’s not just better to do aero development but that we need to have a global approach and global package.

“But the automotive side is one part of the partnership, and it’s crucial if you want to develop the partnership between the brand and the Formula 1 team.”

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

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