Alfa Romeo unveils 2019 racer

This is the new Formula 1 race car from Alfa Romeo Racing, presented to the world’s media ahead of the first pre-season test session at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

Despite its rebranding from Sauber over the winter break, the outfit has kept the C-prefixed chassis name used by its previous incarnation – meaning the 2019 design is the Alfa Romeo C38.

The livery is very similar to the colour scheme used by Sauber last season, when it was already running with Alfa Romeo as its title sponsor.

Though the amount of Alfa Romeo’s traditional red in the design has increased, but a large part of the front of the car remains white.

The C38 features the 2019 regulated front wing design with the elements sloping down towards the endplate, plus an aggressive nose concept to help channel airflow.

The team’s 2019 challenger completed a successful shakedown at Ferrari test track Fiorano previously, with Kimi Raikkonen doing the driving.

For that first run, Sauber used a special camouflage ‘love’ livery to celebrate the test taking place on Valentine’s Day.

Raikkonen will kick off testing for Alfa Romeo at Barcelona on day one, before his team-mate Antonio Giovinazzi gets his first taste of the car on second day.

It’s great that The Iceman is back with his original Formula 1 team. Been 18 years since Raikkonen made his debut in the sport with Sauber. Now, Kimi is eager to start his latest season alongside new driver Antonio Giovinazzi.