Alfa Romeo have made it clear they will be pulling out of Formula 1 entirely at the end of the 2023 season.
That famous Italian car brand joined forces with Sauber in a partnership which started in 2019. But it will soon come to an end, in the wake of the announcement that Audi will work with the team when it enters the sport in 2026.
And Alfa Romeo are more than happy to step away before then. Carlos Tavares, chief executive of its owner the Stellantis Group, made that clear when he declared that the brand had achieved everything that it wanted when it first decided to enter the sport.
"You have to look at things objectively and the fact that I'm a motorsport sufferer doesn't change anything – quite the contrary," he told L'Equipe. "The partnership we had with Sauber was a quality agreement, which was very well negotiated by my predecessor.
"We have used it with very good performance throughout the recovery period of the Alfa Romeo brand in the market. Today, the brand is very profitable and in full revival. Conditions change and we have no desire to put into F1 the enormity of the resources that are and will be invested by some of our competitors. So we withdraw. Kindly. Cleanly."
The Sauber team is set to run without backing from a car manufacturer for the two years between Alfa's withdrawal and Audi's entry. They will continue with their current Ferrari power units, until Audi become the engine supplier when they begin their F1 adventure.
As for Alfa Romeo, Tavares went on to make it clear that they will still be involved in motorsport, even if F1 is no longer a desire. "The job is done. We are going to come back to another discipline which has not yet been decided," he added.
"Jean-Philippe Imparato, the boss of Alfa Romeo, works there and must submit his options to me. One thing is certain, the brand will be present in motorsport after 2023, when our agreement with Sauber ends. Given the history of the brand, it's a no-brainer."
