Alfa Romeo 183T
The Alfa Romeo 183T was a Formula 1 racing car, the Italian team Racing Euro started in the Formula 1 1983 season under the name Alfa Romeo. It was the first car of the Italian team that was brought to the starting line with Alfa Romeo's eight-cylinder turbo engine 890T.
Background
The Italian state-owned Alfa Romeo was engaged since 1976 as an engine supplier for the Brabham team in Formula 1. Since 1979, Alfa Romeo entertained beyond a factory team that participated with their own vehicles in the Formula 1 World Championship. From 1979 to 1982, the race for the factory teams of Autodelta was conducted, one in charge of the operation Alfa Romeo Motorsport daughter. There, the chassis and the engines were designed and built. Before the 1983 season the Milan Company transferred the organization of the Formula 1 plant operation on the Milan team Euro Racing, who took under the team name since Alfa Romeo. Euro Racing also took over from 1983, the chassis design for Alfa Romeo, Autodelta was so in future only responsible for the development of engines.
From 1979 to 1982, the factory Alfa Romeo were lined with 3.0-liter twelve-cylinder naturally aspirated engines. In the course of the upcoming Turbo technology Autodelta developed under the direction of Carlo Chiti from 1980 a separate turbo engine that was tested in the spring of 1982 in modified chassis of the type 182. After a brief presentation of the turbo engine equipped, designated as 182T vehicle, the regular use of the work 890T engine was intended for the 1983 season. After the restructuring of the racing operation, this task is now the Euro Racing team fell to, acted for the Autodelta only as a supplier.
Technology
The Alfa Romeo 183T was developed by French engineer Gérard Ducarouge and the Italian Mario Great Tino. Ducarouge was 1982 Employees of Autodelta and changed, as Alfa Romeo made his Formula 1 project restructured to EUR Racing.
The 183T corresponded largely to the technically also constructed of Ducarouge previous model 182T. Both vehicles differed mainly by the shape of subfloors: During the 182T still wearing wing profiles under the sidepods, which contributed to the ground-effect, the 183T was due to the regulations a flat underbody, because the use of airfoils was by FISA at the beginning of the season in 1983 was prohibited for safety reasons.
Power was developed by Carlo Chiti 890T - turbo engine had a mechanical fuel injection and two turbochargers of KKK. The power was indicated by 620 horsepower at 11,000 revolutions per minute.
In the course of the season five copies of the 183T emerged. In the first vehicle it was manufactured in 1982, as designated 182T prototype, which was equipped with a flat bottom. The following four vehicles were rebuilt following his example in the first months of 1983. They learned in the course of the season some modifications that were developed by Luigi Marmiroli, the successor Ducarouges, which was changed early in the season to Lotus.
Racing applications
The Alfa Romeo 183T was driven in 1983 by Andrea De Cesaris and Mauro Baldi.
1983 was the most successful season of the new Alfa turbo engine. Both drivers fell in two-thirds of all races; on the other hand reached de Cesaris two second places and a fourth place, and also Baldi came twice in the points to the finish. In the Belgian Grand Prix de Cesaris drove the fastest lap and led the field for half of the race, before it failed due to a technical defect. The good performance of the team, but especially the podiums de Cesaris ', however, were bought by a high fuel consumption. It is estimated that de Cesaris, spent on the Hockenheimring, where he finished as runner over 300 liters of gasoline. Overall, it was Alfa Romeo's factory team with 18 points in sixth in the constructors' championship.
Successors and heirs
The Alfa Romeo 183T was replaced in the factory team in the 1984 season by the 184T.
At the end of 1983 Alfa Romeo was the fifth 183T at the Turin Formula 1 team Osella Squadra Corse on. Osella reported the almost unchanged 183T to the first two races of the season in 1984 as Osella FA1F. The car, which was the only available vehicle of the team at that time, was irreparably damaged in the warm-up at the Grand Prix of South Africa after a mistake Piercarlo Ghinzanis. Osella built in the following months to three other vehicles, which largely corresponded to the design of the Alfa Romeo 183T. They formed up to FA1L of 1988, the basis for all further Osella models of the turbo era.