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Alfa Romeo C42

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Alfa Romeo C42
Valtteri Bottas driving an Alfa Romeo C42 during the Austrian Grand Prix
CategoryFormula One
ConstructorAlfa Romeo
Designer(s)Jan Monchaux (Technical Director)
Luca Furbatto (Chief Designer)
Lucia Conconi (Head of Vehicle Performance)
Alessandro Cinelli (Head of Aerodynamics)
Franck Sanchez (Chief Aerodynamicist)
PredecessorAlfa Romeo Racing C41
SuccessorAlfa Romeo C43
Technical specifications
Suspension (front)Double wishbone push-rod
Suspension (rear)Double wishbone push-rod
EngineFerrari 066/7
1.6 L (98 cu in) direct injection V6 turbocharged engine limited to 15,000 RPM in a mid-mounted, rear-wheel drive layout 1.6 L (98 cu in) V6 (90°) turbocharged, 15,000 RPM limited mid-mounted.
Electric motorFerrari
Kinetic and thermal energy recovery systems
TransmissionFerrari 8-speed + 1 reverse sequential seamless semi-automatic paddle shift with epicyclic differential and multi-plate limited slip clutch
BatteryLithium-ion battery
TyresPirelli P Zero (dry)
Pirelli Cinturato (wet)
Competition history
Notable entrantsAlfa Romeo F1 Team Orlen
Notable drivers
Debut2022 Bahrain Grand Prix
Last event2022 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
RacesWinsPodiumsPolesF/Laps
220001

The Alfa Romeo C42 is a Formula One car designed and built by Alfa Romeo to compete in the 2022 Formula One World Championship. The C42 is built to the new generation of technical regulations, originally intended for introduction in 2021.

The car was driven by former Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas and rookie Zhou Guanyu.

Background

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Development context

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Further information: 2022 Formula One World Championship § Technical regulations

The new generation of technical regulations were intended to be introduced in the 2021 season. However, due to the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, the regulations were delayed until 2022. Development of all new generation cars was thus paused from 28 March 2020 until 31 December 2020.[1]

Naming

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The C42 follows the C41, which in turn follows the C39. The new-generation car had been internally allocated the designation C40 in anticipation of new regulations for the 2021 season. When these were delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, a new car, the C41, had to be developed based on the C39 for the interim regulations.[2] However, ahead of the car's unveiling, Alfa Romeo stated that the car would not carry the C40 but instead carry the C42 designation to avoid the sequence of C39, C41, C40, which could have been confusing.[3]

Initial design and development

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Bottas commented that the early version of the C42 ran on the Alfa Romeo simulator did not handle significantly differently to the 2021 cars.[4]

Reserve driver Robert Kubica at the FP1 of the French Grand Prix

Alfa Romeo used push-rod suspension on both the front and rear, in contrast to the push-rod front and pull-rod rear that had become standard in the turbo-hybrid era. The C42 has the shortest wheelbase of any 2022 car. It packages its Ferrari engine much the same as the works team, with wide sidepods featuring cooling louvres over the top.[5] Alfa Romeo developed several major components in-house rather than sourcing them from Ferrari as it and its predecessor team Sauber had done since Sauber became a Ferrari customer team in 2010. These parts include the fuel tank, rear suspension, and exterior structure of the gearbox (the interior components of the gearbox are still Ferrari-sourced). Technical Director Jan Monchaux listed Formula One's new budget regulations and greater engineering freedom and independence as reasons why Alfa Romeo decided to design these components independently.[6][7]

The C42 was the only car to weigh less than the original minimum weight requirement of 795 kg (1,753 lb). Several other teams lobbied the FIA to increase the minimum weight, with a compromise reached to raise the minimum weight limit to 798 kg (1,759 lb).[8]

Liveries

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For the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, to coincide with the launch of the Alfa Romeo Tonale, the two C42s had a special livery, distinguished by the replacement of the red colour on the rear of the vehicle with the Montreal Green.[9]

Competition and development history

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The car proved to immediately be more competitive than its predecessors, as the team took a double-points on the car's debut in Bahrain. The result of P6 (Bottas) was the team's highest finish in a race since 2019. The strong start was followed by subsequent points finishes for Bottas in Australia, Imola, Miami, Spain, and Monaco, and then another double-points finish in Canada. This was aided by a substantial upgrade to the C42 at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. The upgrade featured a new floor edge and strake design as well as new sidepods that merged with the floor. Changes were also made to the rear brake ducts.[10]

Zhou driving the C42 at the British Grand Prix

The car did suffer from reliability issues, both in testing and at the races, with Bottas retiring in Saudi Arabia while running in the points, as well Zhou retiring with mechanical problems in Miami, Spain, and Baku. Even when the car did not retire from races, the team was often forced to miss portions of practice due to reliability problems, which often put the team on the back foot in terms of preparation for qualifying and/or the race. The car suffered a distinct loss in competitiveness relative to the field, as the car only picked up three points finishes after Canada, courtesy of Zhou's P10 finish at Monza, as well as Bottas' point finishes at Mexico and Brazil. Aston Martin would later catch up to and finish with the same number of points as Alfa Romeo in the constructors' championship, but ultimately finished P7 and Alfa Romeo claimed P6 for the first time since 2012 (when the team was competing as Sauber) thanks to the tiebreaker – Bottas' P5 finish at Imola.

Complete Formula One results

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Key
Key
Colour Result
Gold Winner
Silver Second place
Bronze Third place
Green Other points position
Blue Other classified position
Not classified, finished (NC)
Purple Not classified, retired (Ret)
Red Did not qualify (DNQ)
Black Disqualified (DSQ)
White Did not start (DNS)
Race cancelled (C)
Blank Did not practice (DNP)
Excluded (EX)
Did not arrive (DNA)
Withdrawn (WD)
Did not enter (empty cell)
Annotation Meaning
P Pole position
F Fastest lap
Superscript
number 		Points-scoring position
in sprint
Year Entrant Power unit Tyres Driver name Grands Prix Points WCC pos.
BHR SAU AUS EMI MIA ESP MON AZE CAN GBR AUT FRA HUN BEL NED ITA SIN JPN USA MXC SAP ABU
2022 Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN Ferrari 066/7 P Finland Valtteri Bottas 6 Ret 8 57 7 6 9 11 7 Ret 11 14 20† Ret Ret 13 11 15 Ret 10 9 15 55 6th
China Zhou Guanyu 10 11 11 15 Ret Ret 16 Ret 8 Ret 14 16† 13 14 16 10 Ret 16F 12 13 12 12
Reference:[11][12]

References

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  1. ^ "FIA approve raft of F1 rule changes for 2020 and 2021". Formula1.com. Formula One Administration. 31 March 2020. Archived from the original on 4 April 2020. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  2. ^ "Alfa Romeo launches 2021 F1 car and revised livery". The Race. 22 February 2021. Archived from the original on 22 February 2021. Retrieved 23 December 2021. With those rules postponed to 2022, Alfa opted to keep the C40 model number attached to the project, and thus christened the actual 2021 car the C41.
  3. ^ "Alfa Romeo clear up confusion over name of 2022 car". RacingNews365. Archived from the original on 1 February 2022. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  4. ^ Noble, Jonathon; Smith, Luke (28 December 2021). "F1 2022 cars "not crazy different" in simulator, says Bottas". Autosport. Motorsport Network. Archived from the original on 28 December 2021. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  5. ^ Hughes, Mark; Piola, Giorgio (27 February 2022). "Why Alfa Romeo have gone bold with innovative C42 design". Formula1.com. Formula One Administration. Archived from the original on 27 February 2022. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  6. ^ "Alfa Romeo's costly F1 start problem is likely to linger". The Race. 27 March 2022. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  7. ^ Foster, Michelle (2 February 2022). "Alfa Romeo tease image of their 2022 Formula 1 car, drop Ferrari gearbox". PlanetF1. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  8. ^ Cleeren, Filip; Chinchero, Roberto (28 April 2022). "Alfa Romeo: Rival teams "played games" with FIA to raise F1 weight limit". Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  9. ^ "Alfa Romeo F1 Team Orlen celebrates Tonale with special livery in Baku". Sauber-group.com. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
  10. ^ Somerfield, Matt; Piola, Giorgio (30 April 2022). "The F1 philosophy shift that has helped Alfa Romeo push on". Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  11. ^ "2022 Constructor Standings". Formula1.com. 20 March 2022. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
  12. ^ "Alfa Romeo C42". StatsF1. 20 March 2022. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
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