F1 | Alfa Romeo, Raikkonen: “I'm confident, we'll have a positive start”

Alfa Romeo Racing is preparing to debut this season after a very positive and certainly growing 2018. With the increasingly cumbersome presence of the snake in the Swiss team, even to the point of seeing the Sauber name disappear from the starting grid and with the arrival of Kimi Raikkonen to join Antonio Giovinazzi, the expectations on the C38, the child of Luca Furbatto's inventiveness and Simone Resta are very high, especially after the excellent tests in Barcelona. Kimi doesn't want to say too much, while Antonio can't wait to debut as a starting driver after the two races in 2017.

“There is always a bit of uncertainty just before the season opener – Kimi said – one could even define it as a mystery. Anything is possible: everyone in the center of the group seems to be very close and we cannot predict where we will be at the moment. We have a lot of work ahead of us, but last year the team showed that they know how to develop the car very well and I'm confident, I think we'll have a positive start."

“I'm enjoying every single moment of my first full season of Formula 1 – Giovinazzi admitted. The tests went quite well, but it is difficult to predict where we will be on the starting grid: it has been a challenging winter and I have trained a lot to prepare for my first season in the best possible way. Now I feel ready to race: I can't wait to get started and see the red light turn green."

“Melbourne will be the start of another great opportunity for our team – said Fred Vasseur, team principal of Alfa Romeo Racing. After last year's progress, we are eager to start 2019 positively: we have a great driver duo and strong support from our team across all departments both in the factory and on the track. I can't wait to see where we are at and we will work hard to continue working at the top in the coming months."