Re: [alfa] AR: F1 1969 to 1988

["Dean" <tessiedog@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Darryl that was some reply
thanks
Dean
-----Original Message-----
From: Darryl Davis <d.n.davis@domain.elided>
To: alfa@domain.elided <alfa@domain.elided>
Date: Friday, 26 March 2004 11:07
Subject: [alfa] AR: F1 1969 to 1988


>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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