Alfa Romeo hoping for Ferrari engine improvement after suffering in 2020

Alfa Romeo team principal Fred Vasseur is hoping Ferrari's new power unit for this year will show signs of improvement after the 2020 iteration hindered his team's progress.

Last season all three Ferrari-powered teams suffered from a lack of performance due to the deficiencies of the power unit which left the Scuderia often fighting Alfa Romeo and Haas.

Whilst acknowledging the engine was not the sole factor behind his team's struggles last term, Vasseur is obviously hoping the new unit will at least be a step forward.

"I don't want to speak only about the engine but it is obvious that we have suffered a lot on the engine side," he told GPFans Global.

"But I don't want to be focused with what is not on my hands. I have a deal with Ferrari, the collaboration is okay, sometimes it is performing and sometimes not.

"Okay, it is like it is, and we as a team have to be focused on how we can steer and impact and not on the other things.

"Even on this, I don't think we did a good job in the first part of the season but the reaction was quite positive. For sure, I hope Ferrari will be able to do a decent step on the engine for next year. They look quite optimistic."

Alfa Romeo scored only eight points last year, finishing ahead of both Haas and Williams but 99 points behind the team directly ahead of them in AlphaTauri.

Vasseur, though, pointed to the progression made by the team throughout 2020 as evidence the midfield is in touch if further improvements can be made.

"[The engine] is not the only topic [of a car]," he explained. "We have to put everything together to do the next step but I know that the next step if you want to come back into the midfield is quite high. We were able to do it this year."

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