IndyCar: Alfa Romeo in IndyCar is a replay of history
By Kevin Nguyen
Marchionne’s comments about Alfa Romeo joining IndyCar is bravado to serve his F1 agenda. It happened before when Ferrari used IndyCar as a bargaining chip.
Sergio Marchionne’s comments Friday at the NAIAS in Detroit have sparked curiosity in IndyCar fans. The CEO of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) and Chairman of Ferrari said that they’re thinking of putting Alfa Romeo into IndyCar, according to Motorsport.com.
“Why not Alfa Romeo in IndyCar?” Marchionne asked. “We are thinking about it.”
Why not? Because it’s been done and under very similar conditions 30 years ago. Let’s look back at when Ferrari almost entered IndyCar and you’ll understand why Marchionne’s comments are nothing new.
In his lifetime, Enzo Ferrari’s greatest racing regret was not winning the Indianapolis 500. In 1952, he entered while the Indy 500 was a part of the Formula 1 championship. His car, the 375 Indy, was driven by Alberto Ascari, who ran 40 laps before retiring. After that, Ferrari never entered another Indy 500, despite it being on the F1 calendar from 1950 to 1959.
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Fast forward to the 1980s. Ferrari are unhappy with pending engine regulations of 1989 limiting engines to a V8 configuration and decides to look into entering IndyCar (CART). By 1985, Ferrari have a base to work with after Bobby Rahal tests a March 85C at Fiorano, Ferrari’s test track.
By 1986, Ferrari have built their IndyCar challenger, the 637. The Italian outfit have Goodyear and Truesports signed on to provide tires and as a team entry, respectively. After a shakedown at Fiorano, Ferrari and Bernie Ecclestone meet and come to an agreement on engine regulations. The 637 never races in IndyCar.
The car and its designs are given to Alfa Romeo, and Alfa develop their IndyCar program based on the 637 and enter in 1989. They pull out after the 1991 season after never achieving higher than 4th place in three seasons.
With Ferrari threatening to withdraw from F1 in 2020 due to the 2021 engine regulations, this is Marchionne channelling his inner Enzo Ferrari. He is attempting the same thing Ferrari did 32 years ago — using IndyCar as a bargaining chip to make F1 bend to Ferrari’s demands.
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An Alfa Romeo/IndyCar project failed to gain traction 30 years ago. With IndyCar experiencing a revival in popularity and attempting to add a third engine manufacturer, they do not need this from Marchionne — a volatile manufacturer being used for another series gain. IndyCar have experienced enough instability in the years since “the split”. What they needs now is consistency and commitment from all of their partners.