Alfa Romeo in Formula 1 Grand Prix Racing
F1 World Champions and Engine Suppliers to Brabham
Sep 16, 2009
Alfa Romeo dominated the early years of Formula 1, before pulling out of Grand Prix racing for over two decades. They returned in the 1970s but could not recapture the glory days of old.
Alfa Romeo in Formula 1
No team was better prepared for the inaugural Formula 1 World Championship in 1950 than Alfa Romeo. Equipped with the pre-war type 158 no other team could match the power of the 1.5 litre supercharged cars. The cars had famously been walled up in a cheese factory during the war to protect them.
The 1950 Formula 1 title went to Alfa Romeo driver Giuseppe Farina. He was a fast and controversial racer, known for an aggressive approach. In 1951 yet more power was found, at the cost of fuel efficiency. The revamped car was dupped the 159 and Juan-Manuel Fangio used it to win the first of his five Formula 1 titles.
Alfa Romeo were finally defeated in 1951, when Froilan Gonzalez triumphed in a Ferrari at Silverstone. By the end of the season it was clear that Alfa Romeo's reign was at an end. Despite prodigious power the cars were crippled by excessive fuel consumption and the team withdrew from Formula 1.
Alfa Romeo Engines in Formula 1 Cars
Despite no official factory involvement Alfa Romeo engines were still used in Formula 1 racing during the 1960s and 1970s. One Alfa Romeo stalwart was the bespectacled Italian Andrea de Adamich, who used the power units in McLarens and Marches during the early seventies.
Alfa Romeo finally returned to Formula 1 as an official engine supplier in 1976, providing units for the Brabham team owned by Bernie Ecclestone. Fuel economy was still an issue but, in 1978, the team finally won a Grand Prix again. The breakthrough came in Sweden, with Niki Lauda driving the controversial BT46B 'fan car'. The car used a giant fan to suck it to the track, making it extremely quick around corners. The downside was that the fan three debris into the path of following cars. After the victory the design was retired following a discussion between Brabham and the sport's governing body.
Alfa Romeo Returns to Grand Prix Racing
The 1979 season saw Alfa Romeo make a return to the Formula 1 grid as a constructor. They remained in Grand Prix racing until 1985, but without scoring a single victory. The team was struck by tragedy in 1980 when number one driver Patrick Depailler perished in a high speed testing crash at Hockenheim. Italian youngster Bruno Giacomelli was left to assume the role of team leader.
Alfa Romeo also supplied engines to the small Osella Formula 1 team during much of the 1980s, but with little success. There was a deal to supply Ligier, but this fell through following FIAT's acquisition of Alfa Romeo and some extremely critical comments made by René Arnoux regarding the Formula 1 engine.
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