Raikkonen drives new C39 for first time in Italy as Alfa Romeo reveal one-off snakeskin style livery with love heart on Valentine's Day
Friday 14 February 2020 15:08, UK
Love was in the air at Alfa Romeo on Friday as their F1 2020 challenger hit the track for the first time in another Valentine's Day-inspired livery.
It is the second year in a row that the team have offered a first glimpse of their car in a one-off livery on February 14 - after revealing a heart-themed camouflage design in 2019.
This time, the new car was coated in snakeskin-style black, with a red heart displaying the Alfa Romeo logo.
Kimi Raikkonen was the driver tasked with debuting the C39 as he hit the track at Fiorano in Italy for some shakedown laps - although Alfa Romeo won't officially reveal their latest car until the opening morning of winter testing next week.
Last year, they switched from their Valentine's Day look to red and white for the full launch.
"The snakeskin livery, designed by the Centro Stile Alfa Romeo, is a homage to one of the brand's dominant icons, the heraldic Biscione - the large serpent featured in the city of Milan's crest," said the team.
"The snakeskin pattern not only contributed to creating a unique look for this special occasion: it also helped the team camouflage the C39, leaving the secrets its bodywork holds to be revealed at the team's official launch on February 19th."
Alfa have retained their driver line-up from 2019, with Antonio Giovinazzi partnering former world champion Raikkonen.
2020 marks Alfa Romeo's second year back in F1 after taking over full naming rights of the Sauber team prior to last season.
They finished that opening year in eighth, although their early-season pace suggested they would be much higher as Raikkonen battled for seventh in the championship with consistent top-10 finishes.
Alfa Romeo, however, only collected points at three of the closing nine races as their pace fell away after the summer break.
Raikkonen, the 18-year F1 veteran, finished the season in 12th, with Giovinazzi 17th in his first full campaign.
The team, powered by impressive Ferrari engines, will hope to bounce back in 2020 and fight towards the front of the midfield with the likes of McLaren, Renault and Racing Point.
While we'll have to wait for their official launch, on Friday they became the third team to hit the track with their new car after Red Bull and Mercedes.
There are more launches next week before pre-season testing begins on Wednesday.
