Alfa Romeo 184T

The Alfa Romeo 184T is a Formula One car which was used by the Alfa Romeo team during the 1984 and 1985 Formula One seasons.

Alfa Romeo 184T
Alfa Romeo 184TB

Eddie Cheever in the Alfa Romeo 184T at the 1984 Dallas Grand Prix
Category	Formula One
Constructor	Alfa Romeo
Designer(s)	Luigi Marmiroli (Technical Director) Mario Tollentino (Chief Designer)
Predecessor	183T
Successor	185T - engineering C38 - chronological raced order
Technical specifications
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 / Hewland 6-speed manual
Weight	550 kg (1,212.5 lb)
Fuel	Agip
Tyres	Goodyear
Competition history
Notable entrants	Benetton Team Alfa Romeo
Notable drivers	22. Riccardo Patrese 23. Eddie Cheever
Debut	1984 Brazilian Grand Prix
Races Wins Podiums Poles F/Laps 25 0 1 0 0
Constructors' Championships	0
Drivers' Championships	0

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 680 hp (507 kW) at 10700 rpm, was Mario Tollentino's first F1 design, and it used the Alfa Romeo 890T engine.

When the 890T engine was introduced in 1983, 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

Riccardo Patrese driving the 184TB at the Nürburgring in 1985.

The 184T was replaced for 1985 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)

Year	Team/Chassis	Engine	Tyres	Drivers	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Points	WCC
1984	Alfa Romeo 184T	Alfa Romeo 890T V8 tc	G		BRA	RSA	BEL	SMR	FRA	MON	CAN	DET	DAL	GBR	GER	AUT	NED	ITA	EUR	POR	11	8th
				Riccardo Patrese	Ret	4	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	12	Ret	10	Ret	3	6	8
				Eddie Cheever	4	Ret	Ret	7	Ret	DNQ	11	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	13	9	Ret	17
1985	Alfa Romeo 184TB	Alfa Romeo 890T V8 tc	G		BRA	POR	SMR	MON	CAN	DET	FRA	GBR	GER	AUT	NED	ITA	BEL	EUR	RSA	AUS	0	NC
				Riccardo Patrese									Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	9	Ret	Ret
				Eddie Cheever								Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	11	Ret	Ret