Why Alfa Romeo will define Marchionne's legacy

When the late Sergio Marchionne signed off on his deal with Sauber's Frederic Vasseur to bring Alfa Romeo back into Formula 1 last season, it didn't generate quite the welter of enthusiasm the CEO of Fiat Chrysler and chairman of Ferrari might have wished for.

A splash of branding on the engine cover and the incorporation of Alfa Romeo into the team name appeared to some to be more about marketing or an astute political play, and less about racing.

One year later and the transformative power of that deal has changed F1, promoting the considerable talent of Charles Leclerc to Ferrari and returning Sauber to its rightful place as a serious midfield contender capable of embarrassing the big guys.

The 'commercial and technical partnership' first announced in November 2017 has given Vasseur a degree of financial clout that his perennially underfunded Swiss team has long desired, combined with technical support and a current-spec Ferrari powertrain - which, as Mercedes will tell you, is right there.

Vasseur, something of an old-school team boss who actually understands racing and the ingredients necessary to win, saw the Alfa Romeo deal for what it was: at worst a key part of the Sauber jigsaw, at best maybe even the whole picture. The timing of the deal could not have been better.

Everything about Alfa Romeo underlines the simplicity of Marchionne's strategy - namely that if the car company is to stage a resurgence, it should have the confidence to reposition itself in F1.

The company that won the first two F1 world championships with Nino Farina and Juan Manuel Fangio might have bounced from one crisis to the next in the 1960s and 70s, including a torrid time in F1 between 1979 and 1985, but its fortunes have stabilised since Fiat took over in 1986. It's been a hard slog, but recent years have shown progress.

With global sales of 67,309 cars in the first half of 2018, up 28% on '17, the success of the new Giulia and Stelvio models has finally given Alfa Romeo's bosses a decent sales trajectory, although China and North America is proving tough. Meanwhile the award- winning and range-topping Quadrifoglio variants remind us of how closely motor racing is bound up with the brand. After all, it was Enzo Ferrari's friend and team-mate Ugo Sivocci who, according to racing legend, painted a four-leafed clover on his Alfa Romeo RL and promptly won the 1923 Targa Florio.

It's important to remember that Alfa Romeo played a big part in Enzo Ferrari's early career, initially as a driver and later as entrant under the Scuderia Ferrari banner. That the two companies remain joined at the hip is one of modern F1's more unexpected outcomes, but the question arises as to whether Alfa Romeo is committed long term.

The news that the initial deal has been extended, to include the renaming of the team as Alfa Romeo Racing, bodes well. After a season of using F1 for consumer, media and dealer marketing, the bosses in Turin clearly like what they see.

If Vasseur can build on the momentum of last year, and get the best out of returnee Antonio Giovinazzi as well as the enigmatic Kimi Raikkonen, the outcome will be crucial in framing future direction. In short, the fortunes of Alfa Romeo Racing will quickly determine whether Marchionne's strategy becomes a defining legacy, both for the company and F1.