Alfa Romeo in Formula One

Alfa Romeo
Full nameAlfa Romeo S.p.A.
(1950–1951)
Autodelta
(1979)
Marlboro Team Alfa Romeo
(1980–1983)
Benetton Team Alfa Romeo
(1984–1985)
Alfa Romeo Racing
(2019)
Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen
(2020–2021)
Alfa Romeo F1 Team Orlen
(2022)
Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake
(2023)
BaseMilan, Italy
(1950–1951, 1979–1985)
Hinwil, Zürich, Switzerland
(2019–2023)
Founder(s)Alexandre Darracq
Ugo Stella
Nicola Romeo
Noted staff
Noted driversItaly Nino Farina
Argentina Juan Manuel Fangio
Italy Riccardo Patrese
Finland Kimi Räikkönen
Finland Valtteri Bottas
Formula One World Championship career
First entry1950 British Grand Prix
Last entry2023 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Races entered214
EnginesAlfa Romeo, Ferrari
Constructors'
Championships
0
Drivers'
Championships
2 (1950, 1951)
Race victories10
Podiums26
Points199[1] (363[a])
Pole positions12
Fastest laps16
2023 position9th (16 pts)
Alfa Romeo as a Formula One engine manufacturer
Formula One World Championship career
First entry1950 British Grand Prix
Last entry1987 Australian Grand Prix
Races entered226 (215 starts)
ChassisAlfa Romeo, Alfa Special, De Tomaso, Cooper, LDS, McLaren, March, Brabham, Osella
Constructors' Championships0
Drivers'
Championships
2 (1950, 1951)
Race victories12
Podiums40
Points148
Pole positions15
Fastest laps20

Italian motor manufacturer Alfa Romeo has participated multiple times in Formula One. The brand has competed in motor racing as both a constructor and engine supplier sporadically between 1950 and 1987, and later as a commercial partner between 2015 and 2023. The company's works drivers won the first two World Drivers' Championships in the pre-war Alfetta: Nino Farina in 1950 and Juan Manuel Fangio in 1951. Following these successes, Alfa Romeo withdrew from Formula One.

During the 1960s, although the company had no official presence in the top tier of motorsport, several Formula One teams used independently developed Alfa Romeo engines to power their cars. In the early 1970s, Alfa provided Formula One support for their works driver Andrea de Adamich, supplying adapted versions of their 3-litre V8 engine from the Alfa Romeo Tipo 33/3 sports car to power Adamich's McLaren (1970) and March (1971) entries. None of these engine combinations scored championship points.

In the mid-1970s, Alfa engineer Carlo Chiti designed a flat-12 engine to replace the T33 V8, which achieved some success in taking the 1975 World Sportscar Championship. Bernie Ecclestone, then owner of the Brabham Formula One team, persuaded Alfa Romeo to supply this engine free for the 1976 Formula One season. Although the Brabham-Alfa Romeo's first season was relatively modest, during the 1977 and 1978 World Championships their cars took 14 podium finishes, including two race victories for Niki Lauda.

The company's sporting department, Autodelta, returned as the works team in 1979. This second period as a constructor was less successful than the first. Between the company's return and its withdrawal as a constructor at the end of 1985, Alfa works drivers did not win a race and the team never finished higher than sixth in the World Constructors' Championship. The team's engines were also supplied to Osella from 1983 to 1987, but they scored only two World Championship points during this period.

The Alfa Romeo logo returned to Formula One in 2015, appearing on the Scuderia Ferrari cars. Alfa Romeo became the title sponsor for the Ferrari-powered Sauber team from 2018, and this commercial partnership was increased to a full renaming of the team beginning in 2019. Alfa Romeo did not have any technical involvement with the team, and the company ended its sponsorship of Sauber after 2023 and left Formula One to allow the team to be taken over by Audi for 2026.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference alltime_stats was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Season standings 1950 > Teams". Formula 1 points. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  3. ^ "Season standings 1951 > Teams". Formula 1 points. Retrieved 31 March 2024.


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