Alfa Romeo 179

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Alfa Romeo 179 from 1980

The Alfa Romeo 179 was a Formula 1 racing car that was used by the Italian car manufacturer Alfa Romeo from 1979 to 1982 in different versions in the world championship.

The Alfa Romeo 179 replaced the Alfa Romeo 177 in mid-1979 and made its racing debut at the Italian Grand Prix with Bruno Giacomelli at the wheel . Giacomelli fell out on lap 28 after a spin. At the end of 1979, the Alfa Romeo team management decided to contest the entire 1980 Formula 1 season with a 2-driver team. The Frenchman Patrick Depailler was signed as a team mate of Giacomelli . The Alfa Romeo team leadership was aware that quick successes could not be achieved and developed a conventional ground-effect vehicle. The 179 was fast, but very prone to defects. The in-house 12-cylinder engine in particular caused many breakdowns. In the middle of the season, the team suffered a serious setback when Depailler had a fatal accident during test drives at Hockenheim . From the Dutch Grand Prix , Vittorio Brambilla joined the team as a substitute. At the last race of the season, the US Grand Prix at Watkins Glen , Giacomelli put the 179 on pole position , but retired again with engine failure.

The 179 was thoroughly redesigned for the 1981 season, but during the year it became apparent that the durability of the 3-liter engine could not be improved. Team boss Carlo Chiti signed Mario Andretti, who was dissatisfied with Lotus, and hoped for a noticeable increase in the team. Andretti achieved fourth place in the racing car, now known as the 179C , in the first race of the season in Long Bach, but the three world championship points remained the only points for the American in 1981. Giacomelli only achieved third place in the last race of the year in Las Vegas the first podium placement.

Andretti left the team after just one year and in 1982 Alfa Romeo started with the D version of the 179 and Andrea de Cesaris was the second driver. The problems remained the same: fast car, few target arrivals. In total, the 179 only managed to score 14 world championship points in 61 Grand Prix starts.

A special version of the 179 was the 179T . The vehicle served as a test car for the V8 turbo engine that was later used in the Alfa Romeo 182 .

literature

  • David Hodges: Racing cars from A – Z after 1945. Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart 1994, ISBN 3-613-01477-7 .

Web links

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