Exotic Car Restoration Livermore - F1: Fiat Chrysler considering bringing Alfa Romeo brand back to Formula 1, competing with Ferrari - FZ Restoration Livermore- 925-294-5666

Tazio Nuvolari aboard a works Alfa at Monza in th early 1930's source supplied

FORMULA 1’s first world champions Alfa Romeo could be making a return to the sport, if Fiat Chrysler boss Sergio Marchionne has his way.

The company, which owns both Alfa and Ferrari, revealed it is considering bringing the brand back to F1 after an absence of 30 years.

“It’s incredible how the Alfa Romeo brand remains in people’s hearts,” Marchionne told reporters at Ferrari’s annual end-of-year news conference in Maranello.

“That’s why we’re thinking about its return to racing, as our competitor, in Formula 1. It’s important for Alfa to return.”

Fiat’s purchase of Alfa in the late 1980s signalled the marque’s exit from F1, with its new owners electing to avoid putting two of its key brands into direct conflict.

If Alfa Romeo is to return, it will not do so as a bespoke manufacturer; instead, it will be a branding exercise.

In addition to Ferrari’s own works squad, the Scuderia’s engines will power the cars of Sauber, Red Bull-owned Toro Rosso, and the new Haas squad during the 2016 championship.

Any of these three squads could conceivably race with its Ferrari engines rebranded as Alfa Romeo, should Fiat Chrysler press on with its plans.

ALFA ROMEO’S DECORATED GRAND PRIX HISTORY

1920s-30s: Italy’s leading hope
Alfa Romeo was a dominant force in what was known as Grand Prix racing during the roaring twenties, with cars like the P2, the Monza and its venerable P3 collecting victories in big events across Europe, including motorsport’s first world championship — a distant forerunner to the current F1 title — in 1925.

Piloted by legendary drivers like Tazio Nuvolari, Alberto Ascari, Achille Varzi and the meteoric Guy Moll, Alfa would later entrust its factory-backed racing efforts to a small, emerging concern based in Modena: Scuderia Ferrari.

The arrival of the might of Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union, all-German efforts backed to the hilt by government funding, curbed Alfa’s winning streak, although Nuvolari famously embarrassed the Silver Arrows on home soil with an unexpected victory in the 1935 German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring.

But just before war broke out in Europe in 1930, Alfa unveiled its new supercharged, 1.5 litre-engined 158 racer, a car that would have a big future.

Dr. Giuseppe Farina wins the first world championship F1 GP at Silverstone 1950

1950s: Formula 1’s first champions

The 158 was at the forefront of the sport as racing resumed after the Second World War. Frenchman Jean-Pierre Wimille was the leading driver of the era aboard an Alfa, but his death in a racing crash prior to the inaugural Formula 1 World Championship in 1950 means his feats are often overlooked.

Alfa was the benchmark in that first season, Dr. Giuseppe Farina winning the first race and clinching the first championship ahead of teammate Juan Manuel Fangio, before the Argentinian great turned the tables in 1951 to take the first of his five titles.

But Alfa saw the writing on the wall. The 1951 season saw an increased challenge from Scuderia Ferrari, now building their own cars, whose normally aspirated 4.5-litre machine was proving to be just as fast and less thirsty on fuel than their new supercharged 159.

A change in regulations for the world championship, which briefly moved to Formula 2 regulations for 1952-53, saw Alfa bow out of the sport on top at the end of the season.

Alfa's flat 12 engine in the back of Carlos Pace's Brabham in 1976. Source Getty images

1970s: Two famous names combine

Although engines from its sports car racing program were tried by several private entrants, it would not be until 1976 that Alfa returned to F1, this time solely as an engine manufacturer.

The Brabham team, looking for an alternative to the ubiquitous Ford Cosworth DFV engine, partnered with Alfa to put an F1-spec flat 12 engine into the back of their cars from 1976 onwards.

Though powerful, the Alfa engine was heavier, thirstier and less reliable than the motors used by rivals Ford and Ferrari. After a pair of near misses in 1977, Niki Lauda took two wins in 1978 — one of which was earnt by Brabham’s ingenious ‘fan car’ — but that would be all Alfa would have to show for their toils.

A new V12 engine developed for 1979 failed to turn the tide, and Brabham opted to return to using Ford V8 power before the end of the season. But Alfa wasn’t done with F1 just yet.

Mario Andretti let the Alfa team in 1981 - source Getty images

1980s: Out on its own
With their involvement in sports car racing petering out, Alfa Romeo’s competition division, Autodelta, was given the green light to develop its own Formula 1 car powered by the new V12.

After a few cursory outings in 1979, the factory Alfas launched a full-scale tilt at the world championship in 1980, with the full backing of Marlboro, led by star driver Patrick Depailler. Tragedy struck when the popular Frenchman was killed in a testing crash midyear, but the team began to show promise with several impressive runs in late-season races by Bruno Giacomelli, including a pole position at Watkins Glen.

Despite the recruitment of Mario Andretti they failed to carry that momentum forward in 1981, before the outsourcing of its chassis design and the arrival of another new driver saw an upturn in their fortunes for 1982. Andrea de Cesaris put Alfa’s new 182 on pole for its second race and led several laps before crashing out, while the Italian saw another potential win slip through his fingers when he ran out of fuel at Monaco.

Alfa followed the turbocharged trend into 1983 by developing a turbo-V8 motor for its new 183T, de Cesaris dominating the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps before a mechanical failure ended his day. But his podium finish in the final race of the season would prove a last hurrah before a nosedive in fortunes.

Full-scale backing from Benetton and the addition of Ricciardo Patrese and Eddie Cheever netted precious few good finishes in 1984. An even more dire season in 1985 — one where they abandoned their 1985 car altogether and switched back to the 1984 model — resulted in Alfa pulling the plug on its factory team at the end of the season.

he little Osella squad purchased Alfa’s remaining stock of motors, using them through to the end of the end of the turbo engine era in 1988.

Alfa also developed its own new four-cylinder turbo for Ligier’s use in 1987 but strong criticism from driver Rene Arnoux after early testing, as well as Fiat’s purchase of Alfa Romeo, saw the deal dissolved before the season began.

The next time the Alfa Romeo logo would appear in Formula 1 would be on the sidepods of Ferrari’s 2015 challenger.

Cheever and Patrese struggled throughout the 1985 season. Alfa's last in F1. Source Getty Images

TITLE: Alfa Romeo 164 ProCar

SIZE: 650x366px

CAPTION: Video: Alfa Romeo 164 ProCar

1988: An F1 engine that never made it to F1

When it pulled out of the sport, Alfa had already been developing a new 3.5-litre V10 engine for the new normally-aspirated rules set to come into force in 1989.

Work started on it in 1985 and could have joined fellow V10 runners Honda and Renault on the grid in 1989 but for one small problem: new owners Fiat didn’t want Alfa Romeo in F1.

With Fiat owning both Ferrari and Alfa, it decided there was no point allowing its marques to compete on the same stage: Ferrari would continue to uphold Italian fortunes in F1, while Alfa would limit its activities to their longtime playground of touring car racing.

Alfa looked to the new ProCar series as a potential home for its new V10. Developed by Bernie Ecclestone to essentially replace Group A touring car racing, the rules placed a road car body — with minimalist aerodynamic wings — over the top of a two-seater F1 chassis and engine. Manufacturers stayed away in droves anticipating high development costs, with Alfa’s Brabham-built, V10-powered 164 the only ProCar ever completed.

The company also briefly investigated a return to sports car racing, going as far as building a Group C prototype machine during 1990 with an eye to racing in 1991, but it too would never turn a competitive lap.

An Alfa finished the Indy 500 just once, Al Unser coming home 13th in 1990

Post-F1: Touring cars and a dalliance with Indy
Alfa was handballed Ferrari’s stillborn IndyCar motor and embarked on a brief and unsuccessful tenure as an engine supplier. Danny Sullivan would net their best result, a fourth-place finish at the inaugural Gold Coast Indy in 1991.

Its touring car program produced several successes, the 155 dominating the early Supertouring era and was a major force in the German-based DTM and ITC championships, while the 156 dominated the reformed European Touring Car Championship in the early 2000s.

STATS (as an engine supplier)
Races: 214
Race wins: 12
Podium finishes: 40
Pole positions: 15
Fastest laps: 20
Drivers’ world championships: 2

source: http://www.foxsports.com.au/motor-sport/formula-one/f1-fiat-chrysler-considering-bringing-alfa-romeo-brand-back-to-formula-1-competing-with-ferrari/story-e6frf3zl-1227646142368

by Will Dale

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