Alfa Romeo, analysis of a difficult start to the season

It was a year ago, after the first three Grands Prix of the 2022 financial year, Alfa Romeo lived happy days. It was Alfa Spring! If the indicators showed green, it was because the start of the season had allowed the Italian-Swiss structure to recover a form more seen since the 2018 season and the passage of the young Charles Leclerc. Then, the pandemic and the need to prepare as best as possible for the technical revolution that was coming had done its work. It was necessary to define priorities, rebuild and wait for the verdict of the 2022 winter tests. The departure of Kimi Räikkönen, in favor of Valtteri Bottas from Mercedes, was not regretted by anyone internally... Certainly, the Barcelona tests had been very harsh in terms of reliability with too few laps covered, and a big question mark accompanied the word performance. But the doubt was quickly disappeared with the two cars in the Top 10 in Bahrain and 9 points on the shelves, Valtteri Bottas adding four points in Australia. After three Grands Prix, the cloverleaf brand already had 13 units in the Manufacturers' championship, while it