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Why did Andretti go to Alfa Romeo?

Started by Megatron , May 28 2001 14:31

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25 replies to this topic

#1 Megatron

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Posted 28 May 2001 - 14:31

As a life long Mario fan, I have to wonder why on Earth Mario went to Alfa Romeo in 1981? Did he have a falling out with Lotus? Money? Combination of both?

Alfa was medicore at best and poor Mario just scored a fourth in his home GP. :mad:

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#2 FLB

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Posted 28 May 2001 - 16:20

Alfa wasn't mediocre by the late 1980. Bruno Giacomelli started the USGP from pole and only lost the race through mechanical failure. The Italians were also probably those who lost the most on the banning of the sliding skirts and the resulting 6cm rule. They only recovered by the end of the year.

I believe a good indication of their unfulfilled potential was shown in early 1982.

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#3 Gil Bouffard

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Posted 29 May 2001 - 06:03

MONEY! MONEY! MONEY! I remember reading an article in Auto Motor und Sport that recounted various driver's personal income. Mario made a cool million off the Giacobazzi signage across his suit. Alfa added a couple of million to his treasure chest.

Also remember the PR value of having an Italian World Driver's Champion on the team.

The one that I thought was interesting was the money Akai Electronics was paying for Alan Jones' helmet. I remember it as around $60,000. When Jones first went to Williams there wasn't sticker one on his hat.

Gilster

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#4 Boniver

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Posted 29 May 2001 - 09:29

Alfa Romeo take Mario for :

He was American, what good was for the Alfa Romeo Export Market,

and in Italia he was also Italian, what good was for the House Market.

and he had support of Marlboro (Alfa Romeo-Marlboro)

and he was WK

for that reason give Ferrari hem also a car at Monza 1982
(pole !!!!!!)

and Mario say on the Belgium TV in 1981 before the GP Belgium in Zolder ,sitting on the pits wall : (he had the 18 time , Giacomelli 17)

" Ye $$$$$$$$$$$ Ye so good $$$$$$$ Ye the car is very Ye $$$$ I say very Ye $$$$$ Ye good $$$$$ I had never Ye $$$$ Ye so good car $$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Ye $$$$$$$$$$ Ye , so long Ye "

$ = wait 1 sec/$
(maybe he think at dollars)

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#5 Timekeeper

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Posted 29 May 2001 - 13:04

As FLB posted, Alfa really looked the goods at the end of 1980. Most people thought they would be likely winners in 1981. They put a lot of effort in to trying to sign Alan Jones as their lead driver and he came very close to joining them. He was only persuaded to stay at Williams with more money and keeping Reutemann as Number 2 for another year. This was part of the background to the famous JONES-REUT incident at Brazil in 81.

It was only after Jonesy turned Alfa down that they signed Mario. Grand Prix International reported that Mario's contract with Alfa was about $800,000.

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#6 FEV

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Posted 29 May 2001 - 13:26

Yes, and maybe Mario also went to ALFA because he wanted
to stay in F1 and didn't have so many top-teams making
offers. In 1979 Carlos Reutemann (in his first and last season
for Lotus) dominated the defending world champion; and in
1980 sophomore Elio de Angelis clearly was faster than him all
year long.
As anyone got information about other teams making offers to
him for the 1981 season ?

FEV

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#7 Bob Amblard

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Posted 17 November 2005 - 09:21

Mario at Silverstone

Posted Image

Copyright unknown

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#8 ensign14

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Posted 17 November 2005 - 10:35

Originally posted by Megatron
As a life long Mario fan, I have to wonder why on Earth Mario went to Alfa Romeo in 1981? Did he have a falling out with Lotus? Money? Combination of both?

Alfa was medicore at best and poor Mario just scored a fourth in his home GP.

Although he scored something like 300% more points for Alfa than he did in his last Lotus season.

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#9 Nanni Dietrich

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Posted 17 November 2005 - 10:48

Mario had already raced for Alfa Romeo in World Sportscar Championship. First time in 1968 and 1969 (Alfa Romeo 33/3), then in 1974 (one win at Monza with Merzario in the 33TT12) and 1975.

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#10 Keir

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Posted 17 November 2005 - 16:27

It's that Italian thing !!! :lol:

Mario was impressed with the job that Giacomelli was doing so ..... when the offer was made, he took it !!

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#11 Kpy

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Posted 17 November 2005 - 17:17

Originally posted by ensign14
Although he scored something like 300% more points for Alfa than he did in his last Lotus season.

Umm. 200% more.;)

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#12 ensign14

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Posted 17 November 2005 - 18:16

Zat so? Had it in my mind he had 4.

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#13 Kpy

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Posted 17 November 2005 - 18:53

Originally posted by ensign14
Zat so? Had it in my mind he had 4.

Yup. 4th at Long Beach. That was all.

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#14 David M. Kane

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Posted 17 November 2005 - 19:31

Should the same be said for Depailler? He was no lightweight either!

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#15 FLB

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Posted 17 November 2005 - 20:01

Originally posted by David M. Kane

Should the same be said for Depailler? He was no lightweight either!

Perhaps, but Depailler's health was still in question after his deltaplane accident of 1979. Alfa probably represented his best chance for 1980 after Ligier signed Pironi.

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#16 Mohican

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Posted 25 November 2005 - 22:36

The Alfas were generally seen as reasonably good cars during the period '80-'83. They had terrible luck, though, with the Depailler tragedy and the skirt ban - and of course not much mechanical reliability. But if you look at the period as one when the DFV's were definitely beginning to lose out, Alfa did not look a bad option for Depailler and Andretti.

The ´82 car looked nice although by then the V12 was out-classed; but I remember being at Spa in '83 when de Cesaris looked like winning in the new V8 turbo.

Sadly the whole thing fell apart in '84-'85 when the works team was turned over to Euroracing. But the Benetton-sponsored Alfa V8 turbos at least looked terrific in red and green.

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#17 canon1753

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Posted 25 November 2005 - 23:00

Mario said in his book that Marlboro gave him the option of going to Alfa or McLaren. Alfa looked great at the last couple of races with sliding skirts, so he went that way. Oops...

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#18 John B

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Posted 26 November 2005 - 16:18

Did any of the teams potentially offering him rides for 1981 have concerns about his CART/USAC schedule (obviously as it turned out he was at the center of one of the great Indy 500 controversies that year).

As mentioned above Alfa must have seemed at least as good as an option as Lotus at the time...I vaguely remember the Lotus 88 chassis controversy (and an amusing letter written by Chapman to F1 powers that be in early 1981 mentioning his attendance at a space shuttle launch as being a welcome change from what he had been through in F1

)

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#19 Patrick Italiano

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Posted 29 November 2005 - 16:42

I seem to recall having read somewhere - that means I'm currently unable to quote the source :rolleyes:

- that Andretti didn't give much of a hand in developing the 1981 car.

Looking back then, the 179 had been growing thourough the 1980 season, up to the Watkins Glen race.

Alfa was on the "legalist" side and designed for 1981 a car fitting the new rules' spirit, i.e. with the mandatory ground clearance. The whole project had been made around that concept, albeit the 179C was an interim car. The coke bottle concept was on Robert Choulet's drawing table (Alfa aerodynamicist at the French SERA) right from then, as a development of the 179. About that I'm sure, as I have, deeply stratified, a period article.

Then the English garagists ;) came with their hydraulic, manual levelling device. At first, Alfa was on the side of those expecting a ban of such a blatant cheat, but it didn't happen. So Alfa adopted the same device a bit later, but the whole aerodynamic project of the car was unsuitable, and indeed they got lost during the season. When Ducarouge arrived toward the end of the season, he wondered that there were at least 4 chassis specs, that nobody seemed to know which one was better, and there were actually not two identical cars. Duca put some order in that mess, ending with improved results at the end of the season.

That's my recollection of 1981.

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#20 Stefan Schmidt

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Posted 15 December 2006 - 11:26

Does anyone know which Alfa driver drove most Alfa Races in F1??

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#21 Arjan de Roos

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Posted 15 December 2006 - 14:38

Originally posted by Stefan Schmidt
Does anyone know which Alfa driver drove most Alfa Races in F1??

Is this a trick question?

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#22 Arjan de Roos

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Posted 15 December 2006 - 14:43

Originally posted by canon1753
Mario said in his book that Marlboro gave him the option of going to Alfa or McLaren. Alfa looked great at the last couple of races with sliding skirts, so he went that way. Oops...

Questions often create new questions:

-1- What about a sentimental feeling for Mario: helping Alfa become the champ again like the three F's had done.

-2- Would Mario have liked to work with Ron?