NOW THAT WAS A CAR

F1’s first superpower – and Fangio’s first title winner

The Alfa Romeo 158

There was a time when Alfa Romeo meant a lot more to Formula 1 than some stickers on the side of a Sauber. The Quadrifoglio, an emblem forever identified with unequalled automotive grace and style, was the first superpower of the embryonic World Championship and will always carry a special significance in F1. That’s because the Alfa you see here not only won the first grand prix of ‘modern times’, at Silverstone on May 13 1950, it also set a season record that has yet to be matched in the 68 years that have followed: not by the Mclarens in 1988, Schumacher’s Ferraris at the start of the millennium nor by Hamilton and Rosberg’s Mercedes in F1’s most recent chapter.

Back in 1950, Alfa Romeo went unbeaten over the course of the nascent F1 World Championship season. OK, admittedly there were only six rounds – technically seven because of the presence of the Indianapolis 500. But as Alfa and the rest of the European regulars weren’t at Indy, the unbeaten record stands.

All thanks to the 158, christened ‘Alfetta’ at its birth; a little monster that grew, particularly in 159 mode, into a behemoth that would carry the great Juan Manuel Fangio to the first of his five world titles.

The 158’s active life spanned a remarkable 13 years, although six of those were lost to WWII. Created in 1937 by Gioachino Colombo, the 158 was an admission that Alfa had been defeated in the Grand Prix war with the mighty Mercedes and Auto Union Silver Arrows. It was built to ‘voiturette’ regulations to sidestep the German blitzkrieg in Europe’s roster of major motor races, and won on its debut at Livorno in August 1938 in the hands of Emilio Villoresi.

A winning debut for Merc’s own voiturette, the W165, the following year in Tripoli promised a battle royal between the great marques, only for battles of a far more serious nature to curtail such frivolities. The 158s were said to be stored safely at a farmhouse near Milan until peace finally broke out. With Mercedes and Auto Union out of the game, the Alfetta found itself not only still relevant, but the most state-of-the-art racer around. And when the new F1 World Championship was launched for 1950, Alfa were sitting pretty to clean up.

The development of the Alfetta from birth to its last knockings in the second year of the world championship is a fascinating story of desperate measures. In the face of an increasing threat from Ferrari’s unblown 4.5-litre V12 375, the Alfetta resorted to bulking up. Colombo’s supercharged 1480cc straight-eight began life developing just 195bhp at 7000rpm. By ’51, Alfa had pushed the output to an impressive 420bhp with the extra beef of two-stage supercharging.

The power came at the expense of weight – and a mighty thirst. In 159 guise for ’51, the Alfetta’s ladder-frame chassis had been stiffened, while larger aluminium drum brakes with cast iron inserts and twin leading shoes front and rear offered much needed stopping power. And with twin-choke Weber carburettors glugging methanol at an estimated mile to the gallon, the fuel tank expanded to nearly double its original size.

Subtle? Oh no. But this was a war – and ultimately the bulk-up worked. The Alfetta was brutally fast in its final guise, as a speed comparison through Pescara’s 1km speed trap highlights. In ’39, Villoresi was recorded at 147.14mph; 11 years

“SUBTLE? OH NO. BUT THIS WAS A WAR – AND ULTIMATELY THE BULK-UP WORKED”

later, Fangio passed through at an astonishing 192.84mph.

His first title triumph with Alfa in ’51 was an epic. Alfa had dominated the rebirth of grand prix racing in the late 1940s, electing to miss Silverstone’s maiden race in ’48 and standing down completely the following year on the basis they had little to prove. But a new world championship enticed them back, and nothing could stop ruthless Giuseppe Farina and his new team-mate, fresh from Argentina, sweeping the lot. But ’51 would be a different story. Once a loyal employee and Alfa team entrant, Enzo Ferrari was now building his own empire – and he was aiming to sink the mothership.

Fangio won at Bremgarten and Reims, Farina took Spa, and José Froilán González broke the chain and claimed Ferrari’s historic first F1 GP win at Silverstone. Teammate Alberto Ascari won the next two, at the Nürburgring and significantly at flat-out

Monza. Of the four Alfettas entered on home ground, only one finished as Ferrari swept to a 1-2-4-5. The ageing heavyweight was on the ropes.

But at Pedralbes, scene of the climactic Spanish GP, it was Ferrari that would falter – and it came down to tyres.

Fangio led Ascari by two points after Monza, but the momentum was clearly with the Italian. He took pole and led until tread problems hobbled the Ferrari, Their choice of 16inch rears in contrast to Alfa’s decision to go for 18 inches cost Ascari the title: he finished fourth as Fangio swept to victory.

But Alfa knew the game was up, and without the finance or motivation to build a new racer, the mighty factory withdrew. They wouldn’t return as a full-blown team until 1979.

Alfa Romeo had been a colossus of pre-war racing. In postwar world championship terms, their reign was brief – but oh so sweet, especially for one very special man. For the rest of his life, Fangio would profess his love for the 158. After all, you never forget the first time.