I don't think Alfa Romeo originally intended the 158 as a GP car per se, but the design parameters did dictate the width of the cockpit, in case they ever decided to run it in Formula races, perhaps bored out to a 178 or 208 or even with a 6C2500 installed? Ferrari may have been thinking ahead to 1941 when he allegedly proposed it though.
Equally, after Farina's run at Bremgarten, it is possible that Alfa might have considered (and we're entering fantasy land here) using the 158s in some Formula races in 1940: Monaco and Spain (if held at Montjuic) would be the obvious ones.
I think we are finally not too far away from each other
And that is what I mean... I understood from Mattijs (yes, him...;)) that the name Formula 1 (or series) were just a new name to an existing formula. So, that is what I am trying to find out (and since the most knowledge is on this site... ) for I am not really working F1 (World Championship) but all the secondary series that more or less comply to F1 as well (Tasman 1965-1969, Aurora, South African F1 (thanks to Quinten) and so on). That means - in my opion any way - that I follow the regulations that were used to form F1 back to the days were they were implemented. So, to put it in different words: when did the regulations on which the F1 was based start and what kind of cars am I looking at from what year on?
Well, one can understand this question in two fifferent ways:
1. The formula itself - means the technical restrictions (engine size, weight, dimensions etc.). As already written what became Formula 1 in 1948 was the same as the Grand Prix Formula in 1947, which itself was a mixture of the old 1938 formula (4500 cc unsupercharged) and the quasi-standard (but not "official") voiturette category (1500 cc supercharged).
2. The idea of a formula - means the idea to make some restrictions on the cars that are allowed to a race or a "series". This is based on the recognition, that it is "unfair" to have different kind of cars compete against each other, and that if you don´t make any restrictions on technology, that this will lead to excessive and expensive design efforts and also to extremely dangerous cars. This idea is of course much older, reaching well back to the earliest days in motorracing, but with a gap between the late twenties and 1933. This was because in this period, there was some kind of a "natural" limit from the world-wide economical crisis and also the tyre standard of that time, which penalized powerful (and therefore very heavy) designs. Initially each race organizers could have his own regulations, with of course the "formula" of the single, most impirtant event, the GP de l´ACF was automatically "the" Grand Prix formula. Only I think around 1922 or 1923 when first the Italian GP and then gradually other "National" Grands Prix came up, some need was felt for the AIACR to announce some supernational standard for this highest category of events.
I will read the thread as posted above, thanks for that.
And look for many more threads, you will probably find more answers in these:
http://forums.autosp...ampionship 1979
http://forums.autosp...ampionship 1979
http://forums.autosp...ampionship 1981
http://forums.autosp...ampionship 1981
http://forums.autosp...ampionship 1981
http://forums.autosp...ampionship 1981
http://forums.autosp...ampionship 1981
http://forums.autosp...ampionship 1981
http://forums.autosp...ampionship 1981
http://forums.autosp...ampionship 1981
http://forums.autosp...ampionship 1981
And probably some more I did not find.