Alfa Romeo Head of Trackside Engineering Xevi Pujolar has outlined its aim for the remainder of the 2023 Formula 1 season is to finish seventh in the standings.
The Italian marque has endured a problematic 2023 season, only accruing nine points from 12 races to languish a lowly ninth in the Constructors’ Championship.
It marks a continuation of its troubles from the second half of last season when Alfa Romeo only scored four points in the remaining 13 rounds of the campaign.
However, Pujolar has revealed that the Hinwil-based squad will have the addition of new parts to count on once the racing resumes following the summer break as it strives to climb the pecking order.
“We’ve got some upgrades in the pipeline on the mechanical side and also on the aero side for the next races after the shutdown,” he said via RacingNews365.
“We are working on just trying to make sure that we optimise track performance from everywhere, also working together with both drivers, trying to make sure that we extract everything we can.”
Alfa Romeo is currently embroiled in a closely fought battle in the lower midfield, with only seven points separating Williams in seventh from AlphaTauri in 10th.
But aside from improving the overall performance of its C43 car, Pujolar has stressed that the Sauber-owned entry must ensure it executes race weekends more smoothly in order to achieve its objective.
“It’s not only on the upgrades as well, but we can make progress as well on the operational side,” he continued.
“Everything in the midfield is very, very tight so just one-tenth for us… it makes a big difference.
“Then if we want to go towards the top teams it’s another challenge but for us at the moment – focusing on that P7 – it’s extremely tight in that midfield.”
Alfa Romeo squandered a glorious opportunity to accumulate a substantial points haul at the Hungarian Grand Prix, the penultimate round before the shutdown.
Having struggled to qualify effectively throughout the year, both Zhou Guanyu and Valtteri Bottas wrestled their cars to fifth and seventh on the grid respectively in Budapest.
However, a clutch problem for Zhou as the race began and a compromised opening lap for his team-mate saw neither Alfa Romeo driver classify inside the top 10.
Nevertheless, Alfa Romeo Team Representative Alessandro Alunni Bravi has addressed that its intention remains to retain its current driver line-up for next season.
Bottas upholds a deal beyond the end of 2023, but Zhou has yet to pen an extension on the one-year contracts he has been handed since making his F1 debut last season.
The remaining races of 2023 will mark the final occasion Alfa Romeo’s name is associated with the Sauber entity ahead of the group’s transition into a works Audi team from 2026 onwards.
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