But an early headstart on its 2022 car, allied to it being helped out by F1’s aero development handicap system, did just the trick in allowing it to impress a few times this season.
The C42 was one of the shortest cars on the grid and also one of the first to make the minimum weight allowed in the regulations.
These factors,coupled with some other smart design choices, set the team in great stead for climbing back up the constructors' standings.
Alfa Romeo C42
Photo by: Erik Junius
A great shot of theAlfaRomeo C42 on the stands in the garage as the team prepared the car for the first race of the season.
Steering wheel for the Alfa Romeo C42
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
The back of Valtteri Botta’s steering wheel, highlighting his use of a single left-handed clutch paddle, which has the finger socket design to help him modulate the clutch.
Alfa Romei C42 rear detail
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
A poke around under the covers of the C42 shows how the power unit is packaged, the radiators installed in the sidepods and gives a glimpse of some of the rear suspension details.
Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo C42
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
A lower downforce rear wing solution was introduced in Saudi Arabia to match the high-speed nature of the circuit. General changes included a new rear brake duct layout and revisions to the rear suspension fairings.
Zhou Guanyu, Alfa Romeo C42
Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
A new sidepod package arrived at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, with an emphasis on the rear of that bodywork.
The section had previously been undercut and quickly tapered into the co*ke bottle region, but the update did away with this methodology, incorporating a ramped section that merged into the floor below.
Alfa Romeo C42 floor detail
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Building on the aforementioned changes,AlfaRomeo made further optimisations toitssidepod package at the Spanish Grand Prix.
Alfa Romeo Racing C42 rear detail
Photo by: Uncredited
A look at the high downforce rear wing employed in Spain, along with a good view of the rear brake duct assembly without the drum in place. Note how the disc has been faired in and the pipework used to deliver cool air and extract heat generated by the caliper.
Alfa Romeo Racing C42 brake drum detail
Photo by: Uncredited
Similarly, at the front of the car, we can see how the team opted to fair in the brake disc to help isolate the airflow’s passage and heat being generated, given the much larger drum for 2022.
Alfa Romeo Racing C42 nose and front wing detail
Photo by: Uncredited
A top-down overview of the C42’s front wing which was modified in the outer section.Also note the team’s use of the slot gap separator brackets, which are angled in order to marginally influence the airflow’s direction.
Zhou Guanyu, Alfa Romeo C42
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
A shot of the rear wing with the DRS deployed shows the central slot gap bracket which prevents the wing from closing too far.
Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo C42
Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
A low downforce rear wing was deployed in Baku, with the front wing’s upper flaps trimmed to help balance downforce front-to-rear.
Steering wheel for the Alfa Romeo C42
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
The C42’s steering wheel with the various buttons, switches and rotaries used to control the various power unit and chassis functions.
Zhou Guanyu, Alfa Romeo C42
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Flo-viz paint on the C42 here as the team looks to gather some visuals on the flow structures around the front suspension, chassis and sidepods. Also note the team introduced an inlet for driver cooling in the nose tip at Silverstone too.
Alfa Romeo Racing C42 front detail
Photo by: Uncredited
AlfaRomeo approached the front brake duct inlet in a fairly unique way, with a slender but tall inlet framed top and bottom with metal wirework to prevent tyre marbles and other debris from collecting in those sections.
Alfa Romeo C42 sensors detail
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
The team mounted an array of cameras and sensors on the C42 in Hungary asitlooked to collect data on a new floor thatitintroduced. Note the use of the flow diverting strikes on the upwash scrolled section of the edge wing.
Alfa Romeo C42 technical detail
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
A great shot of the C42’s metal bib section and the Bellville sprung mechanism employed to keep the bib at an optimum height during a range of ride height conditions.
Alfa Romeo C42 rear wing Belgian GP
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
In order to help reduce drag, whilst maintaining the necessary downforce,AlfaRomeo chose to cut a triangular section across the span of the endplate and flap junction for the Belgian Grand Prix.
Alfa Romeo C42 rear wing detail
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Retaining the endplate and flap junction cut out thatitused in Belgium, the team went one stage further in its quest to reduce drag for the Italian Grand Prix, trimming the upper flap’s trailing edge.
Alfa Romeo C42 front wing nose
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
The team overhauled its front wing design for the Japanese Grand Prix, altering the ratio of the static and moveable flap portion of the wing.
Alfa Romeo C42 front wing comparison
This side-by-side comparison illustrates just how much more of the flap was made adjustable on the new design left, providing the drivers with access to a more versatile setup window and catering for the team's aerodynamic needs. Changes were also afoot with the most outboard section of the flaps and their juncture with the endplate (inset, yellow highlight), whilst the trailing edge cutout was also removed (blue arrow).
Alfa Romeo C42 technical detail
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
A change to the floor’s leading edge profile was made for the United States Grand Prix, with the floor attached to the side of the chassis, whereas formally it created a channel to feed airflow up from the bib section, which narrowed the available tunnel entrance section.
Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo C42
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
The outer floor fence was modified in Mexico, with a chamfered edge applied to the ramped section that would not only have an impact on the external airflow but also that on the underside of the floor.
Alfa Romeo C42 rear wing cutout comparison
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Alfa Romeo had two main endplate cutout solutions during 2022, one you’d consider to be more traditional (inset) and another with a deeper cutout towards the base, both of which are used to manage the tip vortex depending on the load being generated by the wing.
