Alfa Romeo in Formula One

Alfa Romeo

File:Alfa Romeo.svg
Full name	Alfa Romeo SpA, Autodelta, Marlboro Team Alfa Romeo, Benetton Team Alfa Romeo
Base	Italy
Noted drivers	Nino Farina, Juan Manuel Fangio
Formula One World Championship career
First entry	1950 British Grand Prix
Races entered	110
Engines	Alfa Romeo
Drivers' Championships	2 (1950, 1951)
Race victories	10
Pole positions	12
Fastest laps	14
Final entry	1985 Australian Grand Prix

Alfa Romeo 159 detail.

Alfa Romeo participated in Formula One, as both a constructor and engine supplier, from 1950 to 1988.

History

Success

In 1950 Nino Farina won the Formula One World Championship in a 158 with compressor, in 1951 Juan Manuel Fangio won while driving an Alfetta 159 (an evolution of the 158 with a two-stages compressor). The Alfetta's engines were extremely powerful for their capacity: In 1951 the 159 engine was producing around 420 bhp but this was at the price of a fuel consumption of 125 to 175 litres per 100 km. In 1952, facing increased competition from their former employee, Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, a state-owned company, decided to withdraw after a refusal of the Italian government to fund the expensive design of a new car. Surprisingly, Alfa Romeo involvement in racing was made with a very thin budget, using mostly pre-war technology and material during the two seasons. For instance the team won two championships using only nine pre-war built engine blocks.

Alfa Romeo as an engine supplier, 1961-1979

1978 Brabham BT46B-Alfa Romeo won Alfa's first Grand Prix since the 1950s.

During the 1960s, several minor F1 teams used Alfa Romeo straight-4 engines in cars such as the LDS Mk1 and Mk2 "Specials", Coopers and De Tomasos.

Alfa-Romeo briefly returned to Formula One for the 1970 and 1971 seasons with a V8 engine based on their sportscar unit. In 1970 the unit was mainly entrusted to Andrea de Adamich, a long time Alfa driver, in a third works McLaren. The combination often failed to qualify and was uncompetitive when it did run in the races. In 1971 a similar arrangement saw de Adamich run most of the second half of the season in a works March car, with a similar lack of success.

For 1976 Bernie Ecclestone did a deal for the Brabham Formula One team to use Alfa-Romeo engines based on their new flat-12 sports car unit, designed by Carlo Chiti. The engines were free and produced a claimed 510 bhp against the 465 bhp of the ubiquitous Cosworth DFV. However, packaging the engines was difficult - they had to be removed in order to change the spark plugs - and the high fuel consumption engine required no fewer than four separate fuel tanks to contain 47 gallons (213 litres) of fuel. Murray's increasingly adventurous designs, like the BT46 which won two races in 1978, were partly a response to the challenge of producing a suitably light and aerodynamic chassis around the bulky unit. When aerodynamic ground effect became important in 1978, it was clear that the low, wide engines would interfere with the large venturi tunnels under the car which were needed to create the ground effect. At Murray's instigation Alfa produced a narrower V12 design in only three months for the 1979 season, but it continued to be unreliable and fuel inefficient.

Return to Formula One, 1979

A 1980 Alfa Romeo 179.

Benetton sponsored F1 Alfa Romeo 185T in 1985.

During the 1979 Formula One season, and after some persuasion by Chiti, Alfa Romeo gave Autodelta permission to start developing a Formula One car on their behalf. The partnership with Brabham finished before the end of the season. The Alfa Romeo 177 made its debut at the 1979 Belgian Grand Prix. This second Alfa works Formula One project was never truly successful during its existence from the middle of 1979 until the end of 1985, best result was 6th place in 1983 season.

Time after constructor years

For the 1987 season, Alfa Romeo made a deal to supply engines to Ligier. A Gianni Tonti designed twinturbo 1500 cc straight-4 was tested in a Ligier JS29B[1] by René Arnoux. When Fiat took control of Alfa Romeo, the deal was cancelled (ostensibly due to negative remarks by Arnoux) and Ligier had to use Megatron (ex BMW) engines for the entire 1987 season.

Alfa also supplied engines to the tiny and unsuccessful Italian Osella team from 1983 to 1988. Normally-aspirated (1983) and turbo (1984-1987) engines were used. In the beginning, Alfa also offered some technical input to the small Turin team; The 1984 Osella (the model FA 1/F) was based on the 1983 works Alfa Romeo 183T, indeed the first chassis was a lightly reworked 183T. All the following Osella models up to the FA 1/I in 1988 had their origins in the initial Alfa design.

By 1988, the last turbo season, Alfa was fed up with the negative publicity generated by Enzo Osella's cars, so the Milan-based manufacturer prohibited the further use of its name in connection with the engine. The 1988 engines were simply dubbed "Osella V8". At the end of that season, the relationship finished, ending Alfa Romeo's involvement in Formula One.

In 1988 Alfa Romeo (Fiat Group) bought the Motor Racing Developments Ltd. (Brabham) to built a car to new ProCar series. The car devoloped was V10 powered Alfa Romeo 164 ProCar (Brabham BT57), it was planned to race in a special racing series (as a support event to Formula One Grands Prix). Remnants of the Brabham team and the name was sold to Swiss financier Joachim Luithi in 1989.

Complete Formula One World Championship results

Complete Formula One World Championship results (separate article due to size)

References

• Henry, Alan (1985). Brabham, the Grand Prix Cars. Osprey. ISBN 0-905138-36-8. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
• Nye, Doug (1986). Autocourse history of the Grand Prix car 1966-85. Hazleton publishing. ISBN 0-905138-37-6. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)