Alex Caffi
Italian F1 Driver Raced for Osella, Dallara, Arrows and Andrea Moda
Alex Caffi’s final Formula 1 drive came in 1992 but the Italian still competes today in sports car racing. His fours seasons in Grand Prix racing yielded just six points, but there were flashes of brilliance during his time in the premier category.
Caffi's Early Races and Formula 3
Caffi is a native of Rovato, a province of Brescia in Italy. He was born there on March 18th, 1964, and started his racing career by competing in motocross events. A spell in karting was followed by a move into Formula 4 single-seaters. In 1982 and 1983 he drove in the Formula Fiat Abarth series, finishing second overall in the latter season.
Caffi really came to prominence following a switch to Italian Formula 3 in 1984. He stayed there for three seasons and, although he never won the title, he was always a contender. He finished second twice and was third overall in 1986. It was also in 1986 that Caffi made his Formula 1 debut, driving the cumbersome Alfa-Romeo powered Osella at Monza. Despite the car’s shortcomings Caffi impressed the team by bringing it home in 11th position.
F1 with Osella, Scuderia Italia, Footwork and Andrea Moda
Osella signed Caffi for the 1987 Formula 1 season, but it was a trying year with an underpowered and unreliable car. 1988 was rather better, with Caffi driving a single car for Scuderia Italia. His best result of the year was seventh in Portugal and he stayed on for 1989.
At the season-opening US Grand Prix in 1989 Caffi was running in second place, only to be eliminated from the race by his new team-mate Andrea de Cesaris. Caffi again showed his ability at Monaco, bringing home the Dallara chassis in fourth place. At the Hungaroring he qualified third, but slipped down to seventh in the race.
Caffi signed with the Arrows team for 1990, which had been taken over by the Japanese Footwork company and renamed. The year got off to a bad start when Caffi hurt himself while out cycling and sat out the first round. He once again shone at the Monaco Grand Prix, finishing fifth, but that was the highlight of the season.
1991 proved to be even more disappointing, as Caffi struggled to qualify the Porsche engined Footwork. He was sidelined again mid-season following a road accident and his place was taken by the Swedish driver Stefan Johansson. Even when Caffi returned Footwork were keen to retain Johansson and he eventually had to resort to legal action to keep his seat.
Caffi finally qualified for a race in 1991 at the penultimate round in Japan. He repeated the feat at the final event in Australia but his time with Footwork was over. For 1992 he signed to drive for the disastrous Andrea Moda Formula 1 team, but quickly left.
After Formula 1 Caffi continued to race in a wide range of categories. In 2006 he drove in the inaugural season of Grand Prix Masters, a championship established for retired Formula 1 drivers. Today, he lives in Monaco and still competes regularly in sports car racing.
Alex Caffi, Formula 1 driver
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