Coloni FC188

The Coloni FC188 was a Formula 1 racing car from the Italian motorsport team Coloni , which was used in the 1988 Formula 1 World Championship . A revised version called Coloni FC188B was used until July 1989 . The FC188 and FC188B were the only cars with which Coloni could reach finishings in Formula 1 races. World championship points were not achieved.

The technology

The Coloni FC188 was a slightly revised version of the FC187 . The most significant changes included a 20 mm longer wheelbase, revised suspension geometry and new, smaller radiators, the arrangement of which had been modified. The body was taken over unchanged; only the engine cover had been redesigned. There was still no airbox. In the course of the summer Coloni finally reworked the front and rear wings as well as the underbody. As in the previous year, it was driven by a Cosworth DFZ engine , which was still being prepared by Novamotor. It delivered around 585 hp, making it the weakest engine on the starter field in 1988.

A total of three FC188 vehicles were built. The first car was the FC187 presented in 1987, which had undergone the changes shown in the winter of 1987/88 and was now given the designation FC188. The second vehicle was completed before the Canadian Grand Prix , but has not yet been used there. It was about 10 kilograms lighter than the first copy. A third vehicle was finally put into service at the Hungarian Grand Prix in late summer 1988.

The races

The yellow painted Coloni FC188 was entered in 1988 for eleven Grand Prix. The driver was always Gabriele Tarquini . He was able to qualify for seven races with the car, whereas he failed to pre-qualify four times in a row. The best starting position was position 17 at the Grand Prix of San Marino . Tarquini was eliminated four times before the end of the race, three times he crossed the finish line with FC188. He achieved his best result in Canada when he finished eighth with the first FC188, which was basically a converted FC187.

From the Italian Grand Prix , the FC188 was replaced by a revised model called the FC188B. These were not newly built cars, but the two younger FC188 specimens that had been subsequently converted.

Results

driver	No.	1	2	3	4th	5	6th	7th	8th	9	10	11	12	13	14th	15th	16	Points	rank
1988 Formula 1 season																		0	-
G. Tarquini	31	DNF	DNF	DNF	14th	8th	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	13	DNF

Legend
colour	abbreviation	meaning
gold	-	victory
silver	-	2nd place
bronze	-	3rd place
green	-	Placement in the points
blue	-	Classified outside the point ranks
violet	DNF	Race not finished (did not finish)
	NC	not classified
red	DNQ	did not qualify
	DNPQ	failed in pre-qualification (did not pre-qualify)
black	DSQ	disqualified
White	DNS	not at the start (did not start)
	WD	withdrawn
Light Blue	PO	only participated in the training (practiced only)
	TD	Friday test driver
without	DNP	did not participate in the training (did not practice)
	INJ	injured or sick
	EX	excluded
	DNA	did not arrive
	C.	Race canceled
		no participation in the World Cup
other	P / bold	Pole position
	SR / italic	Fastest race lap
	*	not at the finish, but counted due to the distance covered
	()	Streak results
	underlined	Leader in the overall standings

See also

• Coloni FC188B

literature

• Adriano Cimarosti: The Century of Racing , Stuttgart 1997, ISBN 3-613-01848-9
• David Hodges: A – Z of Grand Prix Cars 1906–2001 , 2001 (Crowood Press), ISBN 1-86126-339-2 (English)
• David Hodges: Racing Cars from A – Z after 1945 , Stuttgart 1993, ISBN 3-613-01477-7
• Pierre Ménard: La Grande Encyclopédie de la Formule 1 , 2nd edition, St. Sulpice, 2000, ISBN 2-940125-45-7 (French)

Web links

Commons : Coloni FC188  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Figure Gabriele Tarquini in Coloni FC188
• Picture Gabriele Tarquini in the Coloni FC188 at the Belgian Grand Prix 1988, the last race of an FC188.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Cimarosti, p. 392.
2. ↑ Auto Course 1988/89, pp. 58 and 68.
3. ↑ Auto Course 1988/89, pp. 41 and 139.
4. ↑ Overview of the engines used in Formula 1 and the tuning companies on the website forix.autosport.com (accessed on February 16, 2011).
5. ↑ Auto Course 1988/89, p. 41.