On Tuesday, Alfa Romeo Racing finally managed to hit the track for the first time this year with a disguised look at their yet-to-be unveiled car, C42. And quite interestingly, there is immensely great news awaiting the fans of the Sauber-led outfit and their power unit supplying team, Scuderia Ferrari.

Reports have claimed that there has been a massive leap in performance for Alfa Romeo in their recently concluded shakedown at Circuito de Fiorano in Italy.

Big 2022 season awaiting Alfa Romeo & Ferrari?

According to motorsport editor, Dimitris Bizas, Alfa Romeo’s new-gen C42, managed to lap over a second quicker than their predecessor in their latest track run. And that’s not it! Ferrari’s newly designed power unit has made a massive difference too.

Turns out, the latest Ferrari engine has embraced significant gains in terms of horsepower. Hence, it is likely that not only Alfa Romeo but also other Ferrari-powered challengers, including Haas, will be highly competitive on the grid, come the 2022 season.

Furthermore, this is a huge sigh of relief for the Maranello giants, who have been craving success over the past couple of seasons. They did pull off an incredible end to the 2021 season by dethroning McLaren to claim P3 in the constructor’s standings.

So, will Ferrari take the next big step and hail themselves as potential title contenders, heading into the new era of Formula One?

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Alfa Romeo release F1 statement following ‘shakedown’

Following the track run in Fiorano, Alfa Romeo revealed a statement that acknowledged Valtteri Bottas was behind the wheel of the C42. According to PlanetF1, Alfa Romeo affirmed that the C42 “took to the track for the first time just after 11 am to perform system checks.

“In distinctly wintry weather, with rain lashing down on the track, Valtteri Bottas completed the first outing of the car under the gaze of team principal Frederic Vasseur, technical director Jan Monchaux, and teammate Guanyu Zhou,” the statement read.

“With all preliminary tests completed, the team will now prepare for the first testing session of the season, to be held in Barcelona from February 23-25 ahead of the official team launch on February 27.”

Overall, this is the kind of news the Tifosi have been yearning for. And now that it’s here, let’s hear it from you – Will Alfa Romeo and Ferrari manage to join the mid-field and top-field, respectively?

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