Alfa Romeo 185T

Alfa Romeo 185T
Category Formula One
Constructor Alfa Romeo
Designer(s) Mario Tollentino
John Gentry
Predecessor 184T
Technical specifications[1]
Chassis Carbon fibre monocoque
Suspension (front) Coil, wishbone, pushrod
Suspension (rear) Coil, wishbone, pushrod
Axle track Front: 1,810 mm (71 in)
Rear: 1,680 mm (66 in)
Wheelbase 2,720 mm (107.1 in)
Engine Alfa Romeo 890T, 1,496 cc (91.3 cu in), 90° V8, turbo, mid-engine, longitudinally mounted
Transmission Alfa Romeo / Hewland 6-speed manual
Weight 550 kg (1,212.5 lb)[2]
Fuel Agip
Tyres Goodyear
Competition history
Notable entrants Benetton Team Alfa Romeo
Notable drivers 22. Italy Riccardo Patrese
23. United States Eddie Cheever
Debut 1985 Brazilian Grand Prix
RacesWinsPolesF.Laps
8000
Constructors' Championships 0
Drivers' Championships 0

The Alfa Romeo 185T is a Formula One car that Benetton Team Alfa Romeo used during the 1985 season. The car was entered in 8 races, but without any success and suffering from poor reliability, the team returned to the previous year's car, the 184T, uprated to "184TB" specification. The 1985 season was the last one for Alfa Romeo in Formula One. The car was powered by Alfa's own 890T, a 1.5 L turbocharged V8 engine which produced around 780 hp (582 kW) at 10,200 rpm.[2] The team drivers were Riccardo Patrese and Eddie Cheever.

Driven by Patrese, the 185T was involved in arguably the most spectacular accident of the season. On lap 16 of the Monaco Grand Prix, Nelson Piquet in his Brabham-BMW was attempting to pass Patrese along the pit straight. Notoriously hard to pass, Patrese moved across on his former Brabham team mate and put the Brazilian into the guardrail. In a shower of sparks, flames and debris famously captured by the television cameras, both the Brabham and the Alfa were destroyed, though both drivers were able to walk away injury free.

It was at Monaco where Cheever achieved the best qualifying position for the 185T when he started from 4th on the grid with a time only 0.279 seconds slower than pole winner Ayrton Senna in his Lotus-Renault. Ironically Cheever had failed to qualify the 184T at Monaco in 1984. After qualifying 4th, Cheever told reporters "We have a new wing here, which is much better than the old one, and the grip is good. Most of all though, we're understanding more and more about the Bosch Motronic, and throttle response is excellent. I think we can run with just about anyone on power as well. I mean, the car is good all round right now - if it can finish". Though it would not take too long for the American to change his tune about the 185T.

In an interview he gave in 2000, Riccardo Patrese described the 185T as "The Worst Car I ever drove".[3]

Statistics

Complete Formula One results

(key) (results in bold indicate pole position)

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

References

  1. ↑ "Alfa Romeo 185T @ StatsF1". Statsf1.com. Retrieved 2012-02-20.
  2. 1 2 "Alfa Romeo". gaffersports.com. Archived from the original on 2008-03-06. Retrieved 2010-08-05.
  3. ↑ Cooper, Adam. "Out with a whimper". Motorsport magazine Feb 2000. Motor Sport Magazine. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 9/9/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.