Alfa Romeo 184T Explained

Car Name:Alfa Romeo 184T
Alfa Romeo 184TB
Category:Formula One
Constructor:Alfa Romeo
Designer:Luigi Marmiroli (Technical Director)
Mario Tollentino (Chief Designer)
Predecessor:183T
Team:Benetton Team Alfa Romeo
Drivers:22. Riccardo Patrese
23. Eddie Cheever
Technical Ref:[1]
Chassis:Carbon fibre monocoque
Front Suspension:Coil, wishbone, pushrod
Rear Suspension:Coil, wishbone, pushrod
Engine Name:Alfa Romeo 890T,
Capacity:14961NaN1,
Configuration:90° V8,
Turbo/Na:turbo,
Engine Position:mid-engine, longitudinally mounted
Gearbox Name:Alfa / Hewland
Gears:6-speed
Type:manual
Wheelbase:27201NaN1
Track:Front: 1810NaN
Rear: 1680NaN
Weight:5501NaN1[2]
Fuel:Agip
Tyres:Goodyear
Debut:1984 Brazilian Grand Prix
Races:25
Wins:0
Cons Champ:0
Drivers Champ:0
Poles:0
Fastest Laps:0
Podiums:1

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

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 6800NaN0 at 10700 rpm, was Mario Tollentino's first F1 design,[3] and it used the Alfa Romeo 890T engine.

When the 890T engine was introduced in, 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 limited 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 Alfas 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 184Ts 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

The 184T was replaced for 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)

YearTeam/ChassisEngineTyresDrivers12345678910111213141516PointsWCC
Alfa Romeo
184T
Alfa Romeo 890T
V8 tc
BRARSABELSMRFRAMONCANDETDALGBRGERAUTNEDITAEURPOR118th
Riccardo PatreseRet4RetRetRetRetRetRetRet12Ret10Ret368
Eddie Cheever4RetRet7RetDNQ11RetRetRetRetRet139Ret17
Alfa Romeo
184TB
Alfa Romeo 890T
V8 tc
BRAPORSMRMONCANDETFRAGBRGERAUTNEDITABELEURRSAAUS0NC
Riccardo PatreseRetRetRetRetRet9RetRet
Eddie CheeverRetRetRetRetRetRet11RetRet

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Alfa Romeo 184T @ StatsF1 . Statsf1.com . 2012-02-20.
  2. Web site: Alfa Romeo. 2010-08-05. gaffersports.com. https://web.archive.org/web/20080306045404/http://www.gaffersports.com/motorsport/cars/alfa_romeo/auto/155.php. 2008-03-06.
  3. Web site: PEOPLE: MARIO TOLENTINO . 2007-04-26 . grandprix.com.