Alfa Romeo 183T

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Alfa Romeo 183T

The Alfa Romeo 183T was a Formula 1 racing car that the Italian team Euroracing used in the 1983 Formula 1 season under the name Alfa Romeo . It was the Italian team's first car to be launched with Alfa Romeo's 890T turbo-charged eight-cylinder engine .

background

The Italian state group Alfa Romeo had been involved as an engine supplier for the Brabham team in Formula 1 since 1976 . Since 1979 , Alfa Romeo has also had a works team that took part in the Formula 1 World Championship with its own vehicles. From 1979 to 1982 the racing team of the works team was managed by Autodelta , an Alfa Romeo subsidiary responsible for motorsport. This is also where the chassis and engines were developed and built. Before the start of the 1983 season, the Milan-based company transferred the organization of the Formula 1 works operation to the Milan-based Euroracing racing team, which has since competed under the team name Alfa Romeo. Euroracing also took over the chassis construction for Alfa Romeo from 1983, so that Autodelta was only responsible for the development of the engines in the future.

From 1979 to 1982, the factory Alfa Romeo with 3.0 liter twelve-cylinder naturally aspirated engines started. In the course of the emerging turbo technology, Autodelta developed its own turbo engine from 1980 under the direction of Carlo Chiti , which was tested in modified chassis of the type 182 from spring 1982 . After a brief presentation of the turbocharged vehicle known as the 182T, the regular factory use of the 890T engine was planned for the 1983 season. After the restructuring of the racing operations, this task fell to the Euroracing team, for which Autodelta only acted as a supplier.

technology

The Alfa Romeo 183T was developed by the French engineer Gérard Ducarouge and the Italian Mario Tollentino . Ducarouge had worked for Autodelta in 1982 and switched to Euroracing when Alfa Romeo restructured its Formula 1 project.

Technically, the 183T largely corresponded to the predecessor model 182T, which was also designed by Ducarouge. The main difference between the two vehicles was the shape of the underbody: While the 182T still had wing profiles under the side pods, which contributed to the ground effect , the 183T had a flat underbody due to regulations, because the use of wing profiles was from the FISA at the beginning of the season Banned in 1983 for safety reasons.

The drive was the 890T turbo engine developed by Carlo Chiti, which had mechanical fuel injection and two KKK turbochargers . The power was given as 620 hp at 11,000 revolutions per minute.

Five copies of the 183T were built during the season. The first vehicle was the 1982 prototype, designated the 182T, which had a flat floor. The following four vehicles were rebuilt based on his model in the first months of 1983. They experienced some modifications over the course of the season that were developed by Luigi Marmiroli, Ducarouge's successor, who had switched to Lotus at the beginning of the season .

Livery and sponsors

After three seasons with the Marlboro cigarette brand as the main sponsor, the appearance of the Alfa vehicles changed in 1983: the main sponsor was the Italian textile company Benetton , which took its first steps into Formula 1 here. Accordingly, the Alfa Romeo 183T was mostly in Benetton green, with red accents on the side pods and on the nose of the vehicle. However, as in previous years, the spoilers were still black. Another sponsor was the Benetton sub-brand Sisley , which advertised on the front wing and on the side panels of the rear wing. Other stickers advertised the team equipment suppliers Goodyear , Agip , Brembo , Magneti Marelli and others. Alfa Romeo itself was only represented with less advertising space on the 183T: There was a smaller lettering on the engine cover and the brand logo on the vehicle nose.

Races

The Alfa Romeo 183T was driven by Andrea De Cesaris and Mauro Baldi in 1983 .

1983 was the most successful season for the new Alfa turbo engine. Both drivers dropped out in two thirds of all races; on the other hand, de Cesaris achieved two second places and a fourth place, and Baldi also came across the finish line twice. At the Belgian Grand Prix , de Cesaris set the fastest lap and led the field for half of the race before retiring due to a technical defect. The good performance of the team, but especially de Cesaris' podium positions, were bought at the cost of high fuel consumption. It is estimated that de Cesaris consumed over 300 liters of petrol at the Hockenheimring , where he finished second. Overall, Alfa Romeo's works team finished sixth in the constructors' championship with 18 points.

Successors and heirs

Technically identical to the Alfa Romeo 183T: De Osella FA1F from 1984 to 1986

The Alfa Romeo 183T was replaced by the 184T in the works team in the 1984 season .

At the end of 1983 Alfa Romeo gave the fifth 183T to the Turin Formula 1 team Osella Squadra Corse . Osella reported the almost unchanged 183T to the first two races of the 1984 season as Osella FA1F . The car, which was the team's only vehicle available at the time, was irreparably damaged after a driving error by Piercarlo Ghinzani during warm-up training at the South African Grand Prix . Osella built three more vehicles in the following months, which largely corresponded to the design of the Alfa Romeo 183T. Up to the FA1L from 1988 they formed the basis of all other Osella models of the turbo era.

Race results

season No. 1 2 3 4th 5 6th 7th 8th 9 10 11 12 13 14th 15th Points rank
1983 Formula 1 season Flag of Brazil (1968–1992) .svg Flag of the United States.svg Flag of France.svg Flag of San Marino (1862–2011) .svg Flag of Monaco.svg Flag of Belgium (civil) .svg Flag of the US.svg Flag of Canada.svg Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Flag of Germany.svg Flag of Austria.svg Flag of the Netherlands.svg Flag of Italy.svg Flag of Europe.svg Flag of South Africa (1928–1994) .svg 18th 6th
ItalyItaly A. de Cesaris 22nd EX DNF 12 DNF DNF DNF DNF DNF 8th 2 DNF DNF DNF 4th 2
ItalyItaly M. Baldi 23 DNF DNF DNF 10 6th DNF 12 10 7th DNF DNF 5 DNF DNF DNF

literature

  • Ian Bamsey: The 1000 bhp Grand Prix Cars. Haynes Publications, Yeovil 1988, ISBN 0-85429-617-4 (English).
  • Adriano Cimarosti: The Century of Racing. Cars, tracks and pilots. Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart 1997, ISBN 3-613-01848-9 .
  • David Hodges: Racing cars from A – Z after 1945. Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart 1994, ISBN 3-613-01477-7 .
  • David Hodges: A – Z of Grand Prix Cars. Crowood Press, Marlborough 2001, ISBN 1-86126-339-2 (English).
  • Pierre Ménard: La Grande Encyclopédie de la Formule 1st 2nd edition. Chronosports, St. Sulpice 2000, ISBN 2-940125-45-7 (French).

Web links

Commons : Alfa Romeo 183T  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Alfa Romeo belonged from 1933 to the group IRI (Istituto per la Ricostruzione Industriale), which was owned by the Italian state.
  2. ↑ a b Hodges: Racing Cars from A – Z after 1945. 1994, p. 14.
  3. ↑ Cimarosti: The Century of Racing. 1997, p. 327.
  4. ↑ a b Bamsey: The 1000 bhp Grand Prix Cars. 1988, p. 38.