The Alfa Romeo F1 team will run a revised livery at this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku.
The paint job, partly similar to the special paint job it ran in the Italian GP at Monza last year, will retain the usual red and white of the C42 but add a big splash of green over the rear half of the engine cover and sidepod – making for an imitation of the Italian flag.
The livery is to commemorate the European release of the Alfa Romeo Tonale, the brand’s new luxury SUV equipped with an optional plug-in hybrid system.
“To mark this important step in Alfa Romeo’s metamorphosis towards a new era of connectivity and electrification, and to reinforce the brand’s link to its noble sporting heritage, the Alfa Romeo F1 Team C42s of Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu will sport a special livery with a full-green engine cover featuring Tonale’s signature headlights shape,” the release said.
“The new livery is another step in the cementing of the strong links between the legendary automotive brand and the Sauber Group, a deep co-operation bringing together two historical brands and leveraging 30 years of F1 know-how to create new strategic strengths.”
Alfa’s C42 will also be viewable by fans through an “exclusive augmented reality experience” provided by the team’s partner JigSpace, according to Alfa’s statement.
Alfa’s Baku livery spec marks the first substantially different one-off colour scheme of the season, although Alpine did run the first two races in a predominantly pink car before switching to its current mostly blue identity.
Alfa is enjoying what may well be its best F1 season ever (and certainly its best in its current iteration), spearheaded by big-name signing Valtteri Bottas – alongside rookie Zhou Guanyu – to a current fifth place in the standings.
