Alfa Romeo 184T

The Alfa Romeo 184T is a Formula One car which was used by the Alfa Romeo team during the 1984 and 1985 Formula One seasons.

Alfa Romeo 184T
Alfa Romeo 184TB
Alfa Romeo 184T
Eddie Cheever in the Alfa Romeo 184T at the 1984 Dallas Grand Prix
CategoryFormula One
ConstructorAlfa Romeo
Designer(s)Luigi Marmiroli (Technical Director)
Mario Tollentino (Chief Designer)
Predecessor183T
Successor
  • 185T - engineering
  • C38 - chronological raced order
Technical specifications[1]
ChassisCarbon fibre monocoque
Suspension (front)Coil, wishbone, pushrod
Suspension (rear)Coil, wishbone, pushrod
Axle trackFront: 1,810 mm (71 in)
Rear: 1,680 mm (66 in)
Wheelbase2,720 mm (107.1 in)
EngineAlfa Romeo 890T, 1,496 cc (91.3 cu in), 90° V8, turbo, mid-engine, longitudinally mounted
TransmissionAlfa / Hewland 6-speed manual
Weight550 kg (1,212.5 lb)[2]
FuelAgip
TyresGoodyear
Competition history
Notable entrantsBenetton Team Alfa Romeo
Notable drivers22. Italy Riccardo Patrese
23. United States Eddie Cheever
Debut1984 Brazilian Grand Prix
RacesWinsPodiumsPolesF/Laps
250100
Constructors' Championships0
Drivers' Championships0

The car bore the colours of the team's major sponsor, Italian fashion company Benetton.

Design

The car had a 1.5 L V8 turbo engine, which produced around 680 hp (507 kW) at 10700 rpm,[2] was Mario Tollentino's first F1 design,[3] and it used the Alfa Romeo 890T engine.

When the 890T engine was introduced in 1983, it had comparable power to the BMW, Renault and Ferrari turbo engines which at times saw lead driver Andrea de Cesaris able to mix it with the quicker cars, while fuel was not a factor as in-race re-fuelling was allowed. By 1984 however, the 890T had been left behind on power by its rivals, while the new fuel regulations limiting cars to only 220 litres per race.

Racing history

1984: 184T

It achieved a total of 11 points, all in 1984. The car's best result was at the 1984 Italian Grand Prix, where Riccardo Patrese came 3rd, at teammate Eddie Cheever's expense as the American was running 3rd, but ran out of fuel. The new fuel regulations saw the Alfa's mostly uncompetitive in the races as the engine was notoriously hard on fuel consumption. Also, the lack of power saw both Patrese and Cheever having to push their 184T's harder just to try to keep in touch (more often than not this was a losing battle) and most of the 184T's retirements were due to the unreliability of the engine that the faster running produced, or the cars simply ran out of fuel.

1985: 184TB
Riccardo Patrese driving the 184TB at the Nürburgring in 1985.

The 184T was replaced for 1985 by the 185T, but the car proved to be uncompetitive so the 184T was brought out of retirement, updated to 1985 regulations and was dubbed the 184TB. The 184TB model would become the last Alfa Romeo car to be raced in Formula One until the manufacturer's return to the sport with the C38 in 2019.

Complete Formula One results

(key)

Year Team/Chassis Engine Tyres Drivers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Points WCC
1984 Alfa Romeo
184T		 Alfa Romeo 890T
V8 tc		 G BRA RSA BEL SMR FRA MON CAN DET DAL GBR GER AUT NED ITA EUR POR 11 8th
Riccardo Patrese Ret 4 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 12 Ret 10 Ret 3 6 8
Eddie Cheever 4 Ret Ret 7 Ret DNQ 11 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 13 9 Ret 17
1985 Alfa Romeo
184TB		 Alfa Romeo 890T
V8 tc		 G BRA POR SMR MON CAN DET FRA GBR GER AUT NED ITA BEL EUR RSA AUS 0 NC
Riccardo Patrese Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 9 Ret Ret
Eddie Cheever Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 11 Ret Ret

References
  1. "Alfa Romeo 184T @ StatsF1". Statsf1.com. Retrieved 2012-02-20.
  2. "Alfa Romeo". gaffersports.com. Archived from the original on 2008-03-06. Retrieved 2010-08-05.
  3. "PEOPLE: MARIO TOLENTINO". grandprix.com. Retrieved 2007-04-26.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.