Alfa Romeo has abandoned the project in Formula 1 with Sauber at the end of this season, even giving up on the premier category – although there were rumors of a potential partnership with Haas, which did not materialize. Now, the World Endurance Championship (WEC) is the next step for the Italian manufacturer.
Jean-Philippe Imparato, CEO of Alfa Romeo, explained to Motorsport.com the reason why this is the intended route for the future:
– We started looking at other things, quickly coming to a conclusion. Alfa Romeo has nothing to do with the rally world, the Stellantis group already has two brands involved in Formula E, so the focus shifted to WEC, a world in which Alfa Romeo has had wonderful experiences in the past’.
WEC is going through a golden period with Hypercars and LMDh involving several manufacturers – after difficult years due to the escalating costs of LMP1, which left the grid almost without official manufacturers. Imparato commented on the possibilities of Alfa Romeo joining: ‘It is obvious that it is one of the scenarios we evaluated [partnership with Peugeot, also from the Stellantis group]. There are already manufacturers within the Stellantis group whose sports programs are in close contact, for example, DS and Maserati in Formula E. When we return to the track, we will do it with the support of Stellantis’ sports projects, and since Peugeot is already present in WEC, it is obvious that cooperation is more than possible. Then maybe the two projects can have parallel paths in other aspects, but in the end, we are in the same family’.
That said, the executive made it clear that it is not yet certain that Alfa Romeo will join WEC: ‘I would like to clarify that at this moment we still cannot confirm anything. We will do it when we have completed the planning and evaluation of the investment’.
