Alfa Romeo director hopes to 'effectively never' experience porpoising in 2023 F1 season: "It would be a nightmare" 

Alfa Romeo, the latest team to unveil their 2023 challenger, revealed their C43 with a stunning black and red livery, a contrast to their previous year's car. The team's technical director, Jan Monchaux, spoke in detail about the changes they had made to their 2023 car.

He called the changes 'brave', signifying that the Swiss team has been working hard over the winter with a significant overhaul in the design of the car. Monchaux also stated that redesigning the car's rear end was the focus during this period.

Alfa Romeo's 2022 challenger, the C42, was plagued by porpoising, which became evident during their pre-season testing in Barcelona. They were able to resolve the issue by increasing the rear ride height. This, however, further compromised the car's rear-end stability, especially in the straights.

Monchaux claimed that it would be disastrous for the team to start the 2023 season with the same problems as last year. The Alfa Romeo technical chief believes that they will not be hindered by porpoising this year and that they should 'effectively never' experience it. Speaking at the launch event, he said:

"It would be a nightmare if we spend a day, day and a half, trying to fix the car like what happened last year during the first test in Barcelona. The hopes are quite high, what the CFD said and all the metrics we developed in-house is that the topic will be delayed because you can’t get rid fully of the phenomenon, you can just postpone and delay the moment it is triggered.

"I hope with the change of the rules and the work we’ve been doing developing the new floor it will be delayed up to a point where we effectively never get there. We probably will have some porpoising, I just hope it will be another team and not us."

Meanwhile, the FIA has changed the rules for 2023 regarding the minimum ride height by increasing the floor edges and the diffuser throat by 15mm. These changes were enforced due to concerns about drivers' health, who could suffer from long-term spinal issues due to excessive bouncing. These changes might eliminate porpoising, but could be reintroduced by teams due to setup changes which increase performance.

Consequently, Alfa Romeo has opted for a change in the rear suspension design by choosing a pull-rod system, made possible by the Swiss team producing their own gearbox casing this season. The renders released by the team also show many holes/cuts on the floor edges, which were not present in the show car.

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Jan Monchaux reveals expectations for Alfa Romeo's pre-season test

Alfa Romeo will take part in a shakedown test at Silverstone next week, followed by pre-season testing in Bahrain later this month. Technical director Jan Monchaux outlined the team's goals for testing, saying:

"The car is being developed basically virtually so the shakedown is the first big milestone to make sure the cooling layout, the hydraulic parts, all the electronic – and believe me it’s a nightmare – is working. So it’s really the first milestone to tick and get a measurement from the track and see if they are in line with our expectations."

"Then when we got to Bahrain a couple of days later it’s about really getting an understanding about the tyres, because Pirelli are bringing new tyres, and preparing for the season. A mix of short runs and long runs to effectively get an understanding of the tyres. And hopefully having absolutely zero problems with reliability so as soon as the light turns green we are out and we are in when it’s red again because we need to put mileage on the car."

With just three days of testing in Bahrain before the season begins, Alfa Romeo will hope to encounter no technical niggles or glitches.