Osella FA1I

Osella FA1I

Constructor:	Osella
Designer:	Ignazio Lunetta
Predecessor:	Osella FA1G Osella FA1H
Successor:	Osella FA1L
Technical specifications
Chassis:	CFRP monocoque
Wheelbase:	2800 mm
Weight:	542 kg
Tires:	Goodyear
Petrol:	Agip
statistics
Driver:	Alex Caffi Nicola Larini
First start:	1987 Brazilian Grand Prix
Last start:	1988 Brazilian Grand Prix
Starts Victories Poles SR 14th - - -
World Cup points:	-
Podiums:	-
Leadership laps:	-

The Osella FA1I was a Formula 1 racing car from the Italian team Osella Squadra Corse , which was entered for 17 races in 1987 and 1988 . It replaced the Osella FA1G and had technical similarities with the Osella FA1H . The car developed by Ignazio Lunetta was technically unreliable. The car never reached the finish line in a single race.

technology

The FA1I was not completely redesigned. As with its predecessors, the monocoque and the basic layout of the car corresponded to that of the Osella FA1F ; it was still in a direct line with the Alfa Romeo 183T , which formed the technical basis of all Osella's turbo vehicles. Ignazio Lunetta took over some solutions from the short-lived Osella FA1H, but the wheelbase was 60 millimeters shorter and the suspension was revised in favor of tension struts at the front and rear. The main focus was on aerodynamics: Osella carried out wind tunnel tests for the first time since 1984 . Before finalizing the body and wings, there were 1: 4-scale studies in the Dallara wind tunnel , and the finished car was retested in Pininfarina's canal before the first race .

Osella stuck to Alfa Romeo's increasingly outdated eight-cylinder turbo engines . Their resilience was limited and the fuel consumption was high. In order to meet the regulation-related limitation of fuel quantities, Osella had to reduce the boost pressure considerably, so that the performance of the engines also decreased. In the qualification trim, the engines developed around 820 hp (603 kW), in the races the output was around 750 hp (551 kW). Nevertheless, the FA1I failed prematurely several times in 1987 due to a lack of fuel.

In the course of 1987 two copies of the FA1I were created.

Races

1987 Formula 1 season

In the 1987 Formula 1 season, the FA1I was registered for 16 races for Osella's regular driver Alex Caffi . With the exception of the Spanish Grand Prix, Caffi was able to qualify regularly. He mostly started before the weaker of the new naturally aspirated cars. Caffi achieved the best starting position with 16th place at the Monaco Grand Prix . He did not succeed in reaching the finish line. Four times it failed prematurely due to a lack of fuel, five times there were defects in the engine and the turbocharger, and twice there were transmission and electrical damage.

For some races, Osella used another car for Franco Forini . Certain internet sources claim that Forini drove an FA1I just like Caffi on these occasions. In the literature, on the other hand, it is predominantly assumed that Forini used an outdated FA1G that was built in 1985 .

1988 Formula 1 season

In 1988 Osella competed in the opening race in Brazil with the FA1I. The car - now painted completely differently - was registered for Nicola Larini . The Italian missed the qualification, however, so that there was no race participation. After that, the FA1I was replaced by the largely redesigned Osella FA1L , Osella's last car with Alfa Romeo technology. Gustav Brunner , the technical director of the German Rial team and designer of the Rial ARC1 , which was used at the same time , described the FA1I in March 1988 as a “really bad car”.

Race results

driver	No.	1	2	3	4th	5	6th	7th	8th	9	10	11	12	13	14th	15th	16	Points	rank
1987 Formula 1 season																		0
A. Caffi	21st	DNF	12	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNQ	DNF	DNF	DNQ
1988 Formula 1 season																		0	-
N. Larini	21st	DNQ

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).

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Due to the similarities between the print image of the capitalized "I" and the lowercase "L" (l) in some fonts, the Osella FA1I is confused with the Osella FA1L in some publications. Both vehicles are independent models and were used in different years.
2. ↑ ^{a b} Hodges: AZ of Grand Prix Cars. 2001, p. 186.
3. ↑ For the technology cf. Bamsey: 1000 bhp Grand Prix Cars. 1988, p. 48.
4. ↑ Motorsport news . Volume 9, 1987, p. 24.
5. ↑ racing biography Franco Forinis at f1rejects.com (accessed on 17 January 2011).
6. ↑ Racing statistics at Motorsport-Total.com (accessed on January 17, 2011).
7. ^ Hodges: Rennwagen von A – Z after 1945. 1994, p. 206.
8. ↑ Bamsey: 1000 bhp Grand Prix Cars. 1988, p. 47.
9. ↑ racing biography Franco Forinis at forix.autosport.com (accessed on 17 January 2011).
10. ↑ Motorsport news. Issue 14, 1988, p. 25.

Web links

• Nicola Larini in the Osella FA1I at the 1988 Brazilian Grand Prix