FCA boss Sergio Marchionne said that he wants to see Alfa Romeo returning to the F1 Championship with their own team in order to boost the brand’s image.
The often-controversial executive made clear in an interview with Gazzeta dello Sport that he wants Alfa Romeo’s motorsport return to happen in F1 rather than in another championship series.
An earlier report from Motorsport says that Marchionne has long held the ambition to get Alfa Romeo back in the most prestigious motorsport form with Ferrari discussing the possibility with Red Bull about supplying them with their engines rebadged as Alfa Romeo however, the negotiations collapsed when the Milton Keynes-based team decided to stick with Renault’s powerplants for one more year.
However, Marchionne now says that he wants Alfa Romeo to return with a team of their own, making this sound a much more serious effort.
“Alfa Romeo is capable of making their own chassis, just like they are capable of making their own engine,” he said in the interview.
He also said that the new team could probably work with Ferrari in this effort, despite his comments on the standalone nature of the project. This could mean that the possible Alfa Romeo F1 Team could receive engines from Ferrari eventually. However, the prospect of Alfa Romeo F1 car with a Ferrari engine may upset the Alfisti.
Sergio, on the other hand, doesn’t think this way. “People struggled to imagine Red Bull working with Ferrari! I say that because people criticize me for not giving them an engine. The important thing is to have other large manufacturers enter the sport.”
Story References: Motorsport