Kimi Raikkonen Makes Alfa Romeo Debut Ahead of Launch

Alfa Romeo Racing’s 2019 Formula 1 car has been pictured on track for the first time at a shakedown test in Italy. The man behind the wheel was new recruit and F1 veteran, Kimi Raikkonen.

Under Raikkonen, the team completed 100km of running as permitted in F1’s rules. The Italian outfit used up one of its two promotional days to shake down its new challenger.

Earlier today, Alfa Romeo had teased a new-look black-and-red livery. This featured a casino-style pattern, which appeared on the car as it hit the track. However, some other interpretations see the livery as a Valentine’s day homage.

Raikkonen will be partnered at the rebranded outfit by Ferrari protege Antonio Giovinazzi. Alfa Romeo will be hoping to build on the eighth-place finish it secured in 2018 under its former Sauber guise.

Although the livery looks quite striking, there are chances that they could go down the Mercedes ad Red Bull route. In other words, the livery could just be solely for testing, while the official livery will be unveiled at a later date.

The original launch date that Alfa Romeo had was the 18th of February, the last team to take off the wraps. With McLaren having just revealed the MCL34, Ferrari is the only team that has yet to be seen.

Coming back to the Alfa Romeo livery, many fans will be hoping that they don’t pull a prank on them like Mercedes and Red Bull. For a long time, Mercedes were teasing a deviation from silver, only to reveal a silver livery.

Red Bull, on the other hand, unleashed a good-looking livery. However, they later confirmed that it was only a one-off.