Alfa Romeo C43
Car

Alfa Romeo C43

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The Alfa Romeo C43 is a Formula One car that competed in the 2023 Formula One World Championship. It was designed and built by Alfa Romeo and driven by Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu. The C43 marked the final car to be badged as an Alfa Romeo, as the manufacturer announced its departure from Formula One at the end of 2023, concluding their partnership with Sauber.

Alfa Romeo revealed the C43's design on February 7, 2023, via livestream. The car featured a new red-and-black livery, signifying the departure of the previous year's title sponsor, Orlen Unipetrol, and the entry of global digital casino Stake.com as the new title sponsor. In regions where gambling and sports betting advertisements are prohibited, and in the video game F1 23, Stake's branding was replaced by that of streaming website Kick. If both sponsorships were outlawed, or in its appearance in the video game F1 22, the Alfa Romeo logo was featured. The Kick sponsorship was first displayed at the 2023 Australian Grand Prix. The C43s were also run in special liveries, including an Italian flag at the Italian Grand Prix and a casino-themed livery at the Las Vegas Grand Prix. Prior to the season opener in Bahrain, the C43 was added to the video game F1 22.

The season began with Bottas qualifying 12th and Zhou 13th for the Bahrain Grand Prix. Bottas achieved an 8th place finish after engaging in wheel-to-wheel battles with Fernando Alonso and George Russell. Zhou finished 16th, having been deliberately pitted by the team to set the fastest lap and take a point away from Pierre Gasly. In Jeddah, Zhou qualified 12th and Bottas 14th. Zhou finished 13th, while Bottas came home 18th, one lap down.

Qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix was challenging, with Zhou in 17th and Bottas 19th. Neither car initially finished in the points, but a late red flag created an opportunity. On the restart, Zhou moved up to 10th following retirements, and Bottas sat in 12th. A penalty for Carlos Sainz for a collision promoted Zhou to 9th, scoring his first points of the season. Bottas was classified 11th, missing out on points.

In Baku, for the first sprint weekend, Zhou qualified 16th and Bottas 14th. Sprint qualifying saw Zhou in 16th and Bottas 17th. Zhou finished the sprint 12th, and Bottas 16th. In the main race, Zhou was forced to retire due to overheating, while Bottas finished 18th and last, one lap down.

For the Miami Grand Prix, Zhou qualified 14th and Bottas 10th, marking the team's first Q3 appearance of the season. In the race, Bottas slipped back to 13th, and Zhou finished 16th. Monaco saw Zhou qualify 19th and Bottas 15th. Bottas finished 11th, narrowly missing points, while Zhou was 13th.

Bottas qualified 16th and Zhou 13th for the Spanish Grand Prix. Bottas finished a disappointing 19th, one lap down. Despite a minor incident with Yuki Tsunoda, where the Japanese driver pushed him off track, Zhou finished 9th, securing his second points finish of the season. In the Canadian Grand Prix, Zhou qualified 20th and last, with Bottas 15th. Zhou finished 16th, while Bottas benefitted from George Russell's retirement to finish 10th, his first point since Bahrain.

Bottas qualified 14th and Zhou 16th for the Austrian Grand Prix. Zhou also qualified 16th for the sprint, while Bottas was a surprising 19th. Zhou finished the sprint 19th, and Bottas 20th and last. Zhou moved up to 12th place in the main race after several post-race penalties, while Bottas finished 15th. At Silverstone, Bottas qualified 15th but was disqualified due to a lack of fuel, sending him to the back of the grid, while Zhou qualified 17th. Bottas finished the race 12th, and Zhou 15th. After the first 10 races, the team was 9th in the constructors' championship with 9 points. Bottas was 16th in the drivers' championship with 5 points, and Zhou was 17th with 4 points.

Zhou achieved his best F1 qualifying result at the Hungarian Grand Prix, securing 5th place, while Bottas qualified 7th, marking the team's first double Q3 appearance of the season. However, the race was disappointing. Zhou had a poor start and, while attempting to recover, collided with Daniel Ricciardo, sending the Alphatauri driver into Esteban Ocon, who then hit his teammate Pierre Gasly, taking both Alpines out of the race. This incident resulted in a time penalty for Zhou, ending his chances for points, and he finished 16th. Bottas finished 12th for the second consecutive race.

For the Belgian Grand Prix, Zhou qualified 16th and Bottas 14th. Bottas qualified 17th for the sprint, with Zhou 19th. Bottas finished the sprint 13th, and Zhou 15th. In the main race, Bottas finished 12th for the third race in a row, with Zhou one place behind in 13th. The team entered the summer break 9th in the championship with 9 points.

At Zandvoort, Zhou qualified 16th and Bottas 19th. Zhou retired late in the race after a heavy crash at turn 1, while Bottas finished 14th. Bottas qualified 14th for the Italian Grand Prix, with Zhou 16th. Zhou finished 14th, and Bottas finished 10th, scoring the team's first point since Canada despite a late collision with Logan Sargeant.

Bottas qualified 16th in Singapore, with Zhou 19th. Bottas retired from the race due to his engine overheating, while Zhou finished 12th. Bottas qualified 16th and Zhou 19th in Japan. Bottas retired on lap 9 due to damage sustained from Logan Sargeant hitting him on lap 5. Zhou finished 13th. The team left Japan 9th in the championship on 10 points, with Bottas 15th in the drivers' championship on 6 points and Zhou 17th on 4 points.

Bottas qualified 9th for the Qatar Grand Prix, while Zhou qualified 20th and last. Bottas qualified 13th for the sprint, with Zhou 15th. Bottas finished the sprint 10th, and Zhou 14th. In the main race, both drivers benefitted from Carlos Sainz's failure to start, a first-lap collision between Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, and struggles from other drivers in the extreme heat to finish in the points: Bottas 8th and Zhou 9th. This marked the team's first double points finish since the 2022 Canadian Grand Prix. The double points finish moved the team to 8th in the constructors' championship with 16 points, 10 for Bottas and 6 for Zhou.

Zhou qualified 12th for the United States Grand Prix, with Bottas one place behind in 13th. Bottas qualified 18th for the sprint, with Zhou 15th. Bottas passed Zhou to finish the sprint 16th, with Zhou slipping back to 17th. Bottas finished the main race 14th, and Zhou 15th. Both drivers were promoted two places when Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were disqualified for plank wear violations, meaning Bottas was classified 12th and Zhou 13th. However, due to Yuki Tsunoda's 8th-place finish, AlphaTauri moved to within 6 points of Alfa Romeo in the fight for 8th in the constructors' championship.

Bottas qualified 9th in Mexico, with Zhou 10th, marking the team's second double Q3 appearance of the season. Zhou originally did not make Q3, but Alex Albon's lap deletion gave him a spot. The race was a disappointment: Bottas, fighting for points, received a penalty for a late collision with Lance Stroll, dropping from 13th to 15th, while Zhou had a quiet race, finishing 14th. With Daniel Ricciardo finishing 7th, AlphaTauri jumped ahead of Alfa Romeo for 8th in the constructors' championship, but only on countback.

Bottas qualified 18th for the São Paulo Grand Prix, with Zhou qualifying 20th and last. Zhou qualified 18th for the sprint, and Bottas 14th. Zhou finished the sprint 17th, and Bottas 19th. In the main race, with Charles Leclerc crashing out on the formation lap, Alex Albon and Kevin Magnussen's turn 1 crash, and the two Mercedes lacking pace, both drivers had a chance for points. However, Zhou retired with engine problems, and Bottas retired with hydraulic loss, ending a difficult weekend for the team as they lost more ground to AlphaTauri in the fight for 8th in the standings. Running a special livery for the race, Bottas qualified 8th for the first ever Las Vegas Grand Prix, with Zhou 18th. Bottas received front wing damage from Fernando Alonso spinning in front of him, ending his chance for points. Zhou had a quiet race, finishing 15th, with Bottas 17th.

Bottas qualified 18th for the season finale in Abu Dhabi, with Zhou one place behind in 19th. Bottas spent the race fighting Kevin Magnussen for last place, with both finishing a lap down, but Bottas came out on top, finishing 19th. Zhou finished 17th, concluding a difficult season for Alfa Romeo. Fortunately for the team, Haas failed to score, meaning the American team could not jump ahead of them for 9th in the team standings.

Alfa Romeo ended 2023 9th in the constructors' championship with 16 points, a decrease from 6th place and 55 points in 2022. Bottas's 8th-place finishes in Bahrain and Qatar marked the team's best results of the season. The season was considered disappointing, with many viewing the team as having gone backwards. This was attributed to the car being off the pace from the start of the season, particularly in qualifying, with Zhou's 5th and Bottas's 7th place at the Hungarian Grand Prix being the team's best grid positions. Bottas finished 15th in the drivers' championship with 10 points, compared to 10th with 49 points in 2022. Zhou finished 18th in the drivers' championship with 6 points, the same as in 2022. Alfa Romeo left F1 at the end of 2023, with the team expected to revert to the Sauber branding for 2024.

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