Fans of Netflix's Drive To Survive series could be forgiven for not knowing that Alfa Romeo exist. The former Sauber outfit have barely had any airtime throughout the programme's run; in series two, insight into the team began and ended with Kimi Raikkonen's brief appearance in the final episode, where he famously explained that F1 is now just his "hobby". That iconic moment aside, the fact that Alfa Romeo have not had a featured 'story' in the documentary suggests that there is little to talk about. And in some ways, this is true. The team have been in a consistent place since Alfa took over from their previous Sauber name in 2019; the driver line-up of Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi has remained, and the pair appear to share an amiable relationship with no issues. There have not been any major changes either on or off the track for the squad. Yet there is more going on at Alfa than meets the eye. After two years of quietly bringing up the rear of the grid and not attracting any drama, 2021 is a pivotal year for a team that appears to have made little progress in that time. This year, Alfa have some big problems to solve and will have to deal with questions that they have seemingly been putting off answering for quite some time.
Perhaps one of the most obvious issues for Alfa Romeo is that of their driver line-up. Raikkonen - who turns 42 this year - will go into his third season with the team in 2021, and is now one of the most experienced drivers in the sport's history, having surpassed the record for the most race starts in 2020. Despite being a former world champion and race winner, more used to being at the front of the grid than the back, Raikkonen has said that he is still enjoying his job. The Iceman's condition for remaining in Formula 1 appears to be based more on how much fun he is having rather than results. Yet it would be understandable if the novelty started to wear off should Alfa struggle to get any further up the grid in 2021. Raikkonen is still performing well, and has often got the better of his much younger teammate Giovinazzi. Team boss Fred Vasseur has previously said that he was always keen to keep the Finn at the team, so it appears that Alfa may want Raikkonen to remain with them beyond 2021. But there are surely multiple factors involved in Raikkonen's decision about his future; as well as the enjoyment aspect that the man himself mentioned, other issues like the performance of the car, the demands of this being the longest season ever and his feelings about the prospect of new regulations in 2022 could make the 2007 World Champion seriously consider his next steps.
If Raikkonen did decide to leave after 2021, this would put more weight on the decision regarding Giovinazzi's future. The Italian has experienced mixed fortunes during his two seasons with the team. In 2019 he was outperformed by Raikkonen, with the Finn ending the year with 43 points to his name compared to Giovinazzi's 14. Things ended on a more even keel in 2020, where each driver scored four points in what was a disappointing year for the team. Giovinazzi's form appeared to improve towards the latter end of last season, but there were notable incidents along the way that had led to questions about his future before his 2021 contract was confirmed. The racer from Italy was involved in crashes at the Belgian Grand Prix and Tuscan Grand Prix, sparking speculation that his seat could be under threat. However, Giovinazzi managed to keep his place on the grid alongside Raikkonen for the new season. Whilst this continuity may be helpful to Alfa, it feels like 2021 is the year that Giovinazzi has to prove himself. The Italian - who has been a Ferrari-affiliated driver since 2017 - has said that he was disappointed not to be given the opportunity at the Scuderia this season, with that spot instead going to Carlos Sainz. Yet he has also acknowledged that his up-and-down season in 2019 probably contributed to their decision to pass him over. If the 27-year-old really wants to make Ferrari take notice, he has to improve in 2021. And his performance also creates an extra headache for Alfa regarding the future; if Raikkonen were to leave, keeping some stability with Giovinazzi could be positive - but would the team consider him an effective team leader?
The added pressure here comes from the strength of the Ferrari Driver Academy right now. Before the team's 2021 driver line-up was confirmed, there were rumours that Alfa Romeo may sign Mick Schumacher - an FDA graduate - for this season. The German instead ended up going to Haas, but there are other candidates at the FDA who could be in the frame for an opportunity in 2022 should either Raikkonen or Giovinazzi - or both - not remain with the squad. Ferrari's test and reserve driver for 2021, Callum Ilott, is clearly looking for a chance to step up to a race seat in the future, whilst others such as Formula 2's Robert Shwartzman could be waiting in the wings too. Alfa have some big decisions to make during this season about who will be in their cars going forwards. And for the team as a whole, there are further questions to be asked. Whilst Drive To Survive has largely ignored Alfa, the Swiss-founded outfit did feature in the first season of the programme whilst still under the Sauber name. At this stage, the team were enjoying a mostly successful 2018 season with then-rookie Charles Leclerc and Marcus Ericsson, so much so that Leclerc impressed enough to get the call-up to Ferrari in 2019.
Yet their fortunes seemed to dramatically change from then onwards. Alfa have appeared to slide further back down the grid each year since, and the fact that this slip has coincided with the Alfa Romeo name taking over will surely not have gone down well. If things do not improve in 2021, it is hard to imagine that questions won't be asked about what is going wrong. Alfa might be F1's quietest team - especially through the lens of Drive To Survive - but they are perhaps facing their most crucial and potentially problematic year in 2021. Netflix might want to keep an eye on them for the next series.
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