Will Alfa buy Sauber?

Alfa is Ferrari's little step brother. I'm glad that they are back to F1. Nice to see more Italian teams besides Ferrari.

 

Given limited testing availability, it may allow different options to be pursued and tested at once.

Although I believe transfer of information has restrictions on it.

Ferrari benefited a lot from shared data before HAAS actually got on the grid of F1.

 

Well, clearly not enough..

 

I think teams want to share information, it’s a pretty easy thing to do.

 

"Was Nervous"

Next year he will be permanently nervous with Charles as a Team mate.



DECEMBER 5, 2017

Ericsson was nervous before 2018 deal signed


Marcus Ericsson has admitted he had "a few nervous weeks" before he was re-signed by Sauber for 2018.

The Swede was out-scored this year by his teammate Pascal Wehrlein, who has been ousted and looks set to leave F1.

Ericsson admits that Wehrlein, the highly-rated young Mercedes driver, was "the perfect measure" for him in 2017.

However, it is believed 26-year-old Ericsson's strong links with the new Sauber ownership were enough to secure his place for next season.

"I had a few nervous weeks but of course it's nice that everything is ready now, especially with Alfa Romeo as a major sponsor and partner," he told the Swedish motoring magazine Teknikens Varld.

Ericsson, who has also raced in F1 with the now-defunct Caterham team, admitted he is relieved that Sauber looks set to have a more competitive car in 2018.

"It has been quite a tough career so far in formula one," he said. "It has been difficult to show what I can do with cars that are always at the back of the grid.

"But now with Sauber together with Alfa Romeo, it should mean that for the first time I can be much higher on the grid," Ericsson added.

He will be paired next year with Charles Leclerc, the new Formula 2 champion and a Ferrari junior driver.

"Charles Leclerc is an incredibly talented driver who really dominated F2 this year and will of course be a tough opponent for me next season," Ericsson said.

"He is also Ferrari's new super junior but I'm sure we will work well together to develop the car in the best way."

 

Still based in switzerland, so I wouldn't call them an Italian team. More like a Swiss team with an Italian sponsor....

 

I love the new nickname the press gave the car: Sauberomeo

 

Yep I was at that race - sadly the last one at the Glen. the Alfa's did sound good, the Brabhams sounded great when they have alfa power... they were different in tone than the flat 12 of Ferrari's.... Alfas were more baritone... in 76 -78 they were flat 12's too.. then moved to v-12's... that is when the sound got more Matra like.

 

or instead of Alfasud.... Alfasauber

 

Yes more Matra like . . . but not quite. Hans Stuck's drive in 77 was a heartbreaker.

 

We used to watch the race from the boot area... and I remember going through the huge drainage pipe, just when Stuck came through... he had a really pretty strong lead... but I was more worried about Lauda at the time - that he finished and scored enough points to win the championship again. It was raining so miserably that day... but by the end when Hunt won - it was drying up.

Best race I ever saw - was Glen 79... when Villeneuve and Jones were battling it out in the rain. when Jones wheel came un done - I was so thrilled. if they had not screwed up the pits stop - Jones would have won that race!

 

Haas's F1 headquarters is based in the UK. Are they an American team or a UK team?

 

I attended both races as well. We used to watch the start from the downhill left hander entering the boot, and then from different corners throughout the race. In 77 I got separated from my friends and lost them in the crowd(pre-cell phones). I watched the race alone and had to rely on the PA system(useless) for race status. We reunited at our campsite behind the Paddock Club after the race and then drove our separate ways.
79 was a great race, Gilles was the darling of the crowd. I have some photos of Bud Man around here somewhere.

 

Depend on who signs the checks.

 

Alfa will be supplying the money that cuts the checks.

 

Alfauber (?)

Nah, sounds too much like a "Little Rascals" character.

 

AlFUBAR?

 

True. As Ricky Bobby once said in the famous documentary entitled "Talledega Nights", 'If you're not first, you're last'.
Truer words were never spoken!!

Kevin

 

I see them as an American team because the ethos behind it is American. Haas is an American, and I'll bet he moved many Americans to the UK to work for his American team.

Alfa Romeo is a sponsor, still. They don't even make an engine and I doubt they will make many cultural changes within Sauber's existing structure. Maybe I'll be wrong, but I still see them as a Swiss team with an Italian sponsor. Like I see Red Bull as a British team with an Austrian sponsor...

 

I see this like Mercedes Brawn. Over time it will be absorbed if it works out.

 

C'mon guys, nobody likes this? Seriously?

I didn't come up with it but I thought it was sheer brilliance.

Isobel? Anybody.

 

It was cool. Izzy always comes up with funny nicknames.

 

Thanks m8!

Yeah, Izzy's stuff is a bit beyond my normal thinking. But when I get it, it's really cool. Like the Mary Kay pink Cadillacs, that was fantastic.

But for mere mortals I'll buy Sauberomeo.

I will steal that for my next article. For real.

 

When the Alfasud was built in the south then this must be the Alfanorth...

 

Alfa Romeo (North of) Milano.