[alfa] AR: F1 1969 to 1988

[Darryl Davis <d.n.davis@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

There are a number of good FIA F1 websites ginving the history of all 
constructiors, engines, drivers etc
For Example:
   http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/con-alfa.html
And I quote:
"Initially Autodelta raced modified production cars with success but in 
1967 moved into sportscar racing with the Tipo 33. At first the cars 
were unreliable, both Jean Rolland and Leo Cella were killed in testing 
accidents and there was another setback in 1969 when Lucien Bianchi was 
killed testing at Le Mans, but in 1974 Autodelta began to score some 
good results with Arturo Merzario, Jacques Laffite, Derek Bell and Henri 
Pescarolo. Alfa Romeo won the title the following year and continued to 
be competitive until 1977 when it won a second title. The flat 12 Alfa 
Romeo engine had attracted the interest of F1 teams in 1975 and in 1976 
Autodelta supplied Brabham with the engine. The cars were not very 
reliable but in 1978 Niki Lauda won the Swedish GP in the controversial 
Brabham "fan car". He won again at Monza that year. The deal continued 
into 1979 but by then Alfa had built its own 177 F1 car. This was raced 
by Bruno Giacomelli at the Belgian and French GPs. For the Italian GP 
Giacomelli had a new 179 with a new V12 engine and featured 
ground-effect aerodynamics developed by Frenchman Robert Choulet. 
Vittorio Brambilla took over the 177 for the final races of the year.

The 179 was revised for 1980 and sponsorship was found from Marlboro 
Italy. The team employed Giacomelli and Patrick Depailler and the 
Italian scored the team's first points with fifth place in Argentina. 
There were no more points scored before Depailler was killed in a 
testing crash at Hockenheim in August but after that Giacomelli finished 
fifth in the German GP and went on to take pole position and lead the US 
Grand Prix for half the race before the car retired. Depailler was 
replaced by Brambilla and, for the last two races, by Marlboro Italy 
protege Andrea de Cesaris.

Giacomelli stayed on in 1981 to be joined by Mario Andretti with the 179 
being run in "C" form. It was a disappointing year and in the midseason 
the team recruited French engineer Gerard Ducarouge after he was dropped 
by Ligier. Ducarouge's development work made the car quite competitive 
and Giacomelli scored the team's first podium with third at Las Vegas at 
the end of the year.

For the 1982 season Ducarouge designed a completely new 182 with 
Giacomelli and de Cesaris driving. The youngster was third at Monaco and 
sixth in Canada while Giacomelli managed just one fifth place in Germany.

At the end of the season Alfa President Ettore Massacesi decided that 
the design of the chassis should be taken away from Autodelta and given 
to Paolo Pavanello's Euroracing team in a new factory at Senago. 
Marlboro sponsorship continued and de Cesaris was retained. Giacomelli 
moved to Toleman and was replaced by Euroracing's Mauro Baldi. The 183T 
was an updated 182 fitted with Alfa Romeo V8 turbo engine and fitted 
with a flat bottom according to the new regulations. The team did well, 
scoring two second places in the hands of de Cesaris. Early in the 
season Ducarouge was fired, the scapegoat for an incident in which the 
team was found to be running an empty fire extinguisher. He was replaced 
as technical director by Luigi Marmiroli. Mario Tolentino became chief 
designer.

Marlboro departed at the end of the year and was replaced by Benetton 
with Riccardo Patrese and Eddie Cheever being hired to drive Tolentino's 
184T. It was a disappointing year with Patrese scoring only one podium 
finish in Italy. Chiti was replaced as head of the the engine program by 
Giovanni Tonti. He left Autodelta to form Motori Moderni. At the end of 
the year Marmiroli left the team to join Lamborghini and British 
engineer John Gentry was hired to rework the car as a 185T. He quickly 
left to join Renault and so Tolentino became technical director and 
finished the car. The 185T was not a success and the 184Ts reappeared at 
mid-season. The team scored no points and at the end of the year Alfa 
Romeo withdrew from Grand Prix racing again.

Alfa continued to develop the engine with test driver Giorgio Francia 
doing many laps at the Alfa Romeo Balocco test track. The engine was 
briefly used by Ligier but the relationship was a disaster and when Alfa 
Romeo was taken over by FIAT it was decided that only Ferrari should 
represent the company in F1. The Alfa V8 engine, badged as an Osella, 
continued to appear in the back of that team's cars until the end of 1988.

Alfa Romeo went back to touring car racing..."
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