Why Alfa's 2021 launch says more about its 2022 plans

Wherefore art thou, Alfa Romeo? Given the extended partnership with Polish petrochemicals company PKN Orlen, the team has launched its C41 (more on its nomenclature in a bit) in Warsaw's National Theatre with a livery that somewhat resembles the nation's flag following the partial reversal of the white and red on its colour scheme.

In the days leading up to the launch, a few leaked images emerged detailing that switch, perhaps undermining the Alfa Romeo team's trek to Poland amid global travel restrictions. But sometimes, commercial interests transcend a team's wishes...

Last year's C39 has hence been transformed into the C41, irritatingly avoiding the C40 moniker. Even more irritatingly, Alfa Romeo opted for a Eurovision-esque prelude to the launch, with two dancers twirling through dry ice to a jaunty number tickled away on a stage-right piano. For a more cultured writer, this would have been an exquisite performance, but for someone who just wants to see some cars it rather tests one's patience.

Once the impromptu Eurovision proceedings had abated, the C-not-40 finally broke cover and reveals some visible differences over its predecessor - more than just the revised paint scheme. Starting at the front, the nose seems to have been on a diet over the off-season and now tapers in more than it did last year at the chassis mounting point. Technical director Jan Monchaux revealed that the team had spent its two allotted tokens on the nose, suggesting that the internal crash structure has also been redefined to allow for a more slender design.

The complex array of inlets at the tip have now been simplified, with the central snorkel reduced in size and flanked by openings produced by the transition to the front wing mountings. These will help drive the new cape design, which looks gracefully incorporated into the nose design too.

On that front wing, the mainplane looks more aggressive than it did last season. Either side of that central "neutral section" of wing, the mainplane forms a more pronounced curve - presumably to help the interaction with the wing tips. There are rules governing the amount of curvature allowed in the wing to stop the teams resorting to the extremities of the pre-2019 wings, but presumably it falls within the given limits.

Everything else looks to be largely in the same nick as it did at the end of last season, even down to the bargeboard complexities, the ridiculously paper-thin mirror arrangement and bulbous shark-fin arrangements. At the rear wing, the team has also launched its car with the high-rise wing mountings and the five-toothed overhang on the endplate, so there's not a world of difference to discuss aerodynamically.

"It is no secret that we are going to give development preference to the 2022 car during this year. The less we put on the 2021 car, the more we can put on the 2022 car, especially with the budget cap in place" Jan Monchaux

One thing difficult to pick out, given the angles of the launch shots, is the shape and composition of the floor. It appears that the team has opted for a small curl at the rear corner, perhaps to spit airflow from the underside outwards and rely on any expansion for a hit of extra downforce, but it's difficult to decipher at this stage.

Undoubtedly, there will surely be changes when the C41 hits the Bahrain circuit for the first time, and Monchaux explains that the team has upgrades planned for the season - although not in the quantity that one would expect given the transition to the 2022 rules.

"In terms of development for the season, we are planning to bring updates through the year but certainly fewer than we would do in a regular campaign, because of the ending of the current regulations," said Monchaux.

"Our focus is on 2022, which is going to be a complete revolution: we will have a completely different car and this represents a great opportunity to make a leap forward, closer to the front of the grid. It is no secret that we are going to give development preference to the 2022 car during this year. The less we put on the 2021 car, the more we can put on the 2022 car, especially with the budget cap in place."

In that, we have our first tacit admission that the real focus is on getting everything tied together for the overhauled regulations next year. Even at Alfa Romeo's own 2021 launch, it's apparent that the team sees the car as a makeweight; 2020 was a disappointing season for the Sauber-run squad and a few cursory updates won't make the team an overnight success. Even if Ferrari's new powertrain turns out to be a much stronger proposition than the neutered version used last season, it is difficult to imagine a scenario where it vaults Alfa back into the cut-and thrust of the midfield battle.

But in the meantime, the team still has to secure eighth in the constructors' championship at the very least. In doing that, Monchaux says that the team worked with drivers Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi to reduce the characteristics that the duo didn't agree with over 2020. His explanation also suggests why the team elected to stick with its line-up in a season where the cars remain largely the same over the off-season.

"A crucial element is that, from the very start, you know with certainty what your drivers like and what they don't," he explains. "The 2021 car is a very close development of last year's and, knowing what Kimi and Antonio want, we were able to focus on mitigating the aspects they did not like. Had we had a completely new driver, perhaps with a completely new driving style, that would have presented us with an additional challenge - especially in a season with extremely limited testing time."

As one of the lesser-funded teams on the grid, even with the new cost cap coming into play for the first time this season, Alfa Romeo is going to jump early into focusing on 2022's rules. When the engineers at Hinwil will make that transition is currently unknown but, under team principal Frederic Vasseur's watch, it will surely do so at a sensible time. Although the likes of Alfa Romeo, Haas and Williams will be somewhat hamstrung in 2021 with the carry-over from last year, it does afford them the opportunity to make a switch to next season far earlier - and with greater windtunnel time available to them.

Although the car looks rather fetching in its new livery (although this author would love a splash more red), it doesn't appear at this stage that Alfa Romeo is expecting a night-and-day overhaul in fortunes in 2021 - even with the change to the aero regs. An early transition to 2022's rules does seem to be its best bet and, with an expected continuation of its Ferrari deal due to be extended to 2025, it at least has its ducks in a row for the future.

In the short term, Alfa must make the best of what it has for 2021 and hope to fetch more than the eight points it managed last year. It should be doable - but closing in on the 99-point deficit it had to the midfield last year might be a step too far.