F1 news: Alfa Romeo’s Valentine’s date with first glimpse of 2019 car

Alfa Romeo have embraced the spirit of Valentine’s Day by offering the first glimpse of their 2019 car in a heart-themed camouflage livery.

Although the former Sauber team’s car is not being officially revealed until the opening morning of winter testing on Monday, the Swiss team conducted a filming day at Fiorano in Italy with new signing Kimi Raikkonen.

And, to mark the day the car made its track debut, the black and red livery featured images of hearts alongside the famous Alfa Romeo cloverleaf logo.

Raikkonen has returned to the team he began his career with in 2001 and is being partnered by Ferrari junior Antonio Giovinazzi at the start of a new era at Hinwil.

“We had a good session on track,” said Raikkonen. “The car felt good and I was able to get a first impression of the car we will be running this season. We will work on the last few details and head to Barcelona for two weeks of testing. I look forward to getting to know the car better there.”

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Giovinazzi, who competed in two races for the team at the start of 2017, starts his first full season of F1 and is confident the team can build on the strong momentum from last year.

“In the team the motivation is very high and even I am very exited, we all are. The car is beautiful and I hope it goes very fast,” he told Sky Sports in Italy.

“I think the team worked well last year, the evolution was very high, from the first GP in Australia to the last Abu Dhabi we went to fight for the last place to fight for the third or fourth.

“We hope to start where we have finished, I know it is a very high goal, but we will do everything we can. I have a very strong team-mate who is Kimi, who has a lot of experience and I can learn a lot from him. We’ll see! The team is working very well, me and Kimi are a good pair and the results can certainly be positive.”

Eight of the ten teams have revealed their new cars. Ferrari’s 2019 contender will be launched on Friday, with Sauber scheduled to make their official unveiling on Monday ahead of the start of pre-season testing.

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(c) Sky News 2019: F1 news: Alfa Romeo’s Valentine’s date with first glimpse of 2019 car