Alex Caffi
Caffi in 1991
Born (1964-03-18) 18 March 1964
Rovato, Italy
Formula One World Championship career
NationalityItaly Italian
Active years1986–1991
TeamsArrows/Footwork, Dallara and Osella
Entries77 (56 starts)
Championships0
Wins0
Podiums0
Career points6
Pole positions0
Fastest laps0
First entry1986 Italian Grand Prix
Last entry1991 Australian Grand Prix
NASCAR Whelen Euro Series career
Debut season2016
Car number1
Former teamsAlex Caffi Motorsport
Starts8
Wins0
Poles0
Fastest laps0
Best finish19th in 2016
Finished last season42nd in 2018
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years1999, 2004, 2007
Best finish6th (1999)
Class wins0

Alessandro Giuseppe "Alex" Caffi[1] (born 18 March 1964)[2] is an Italian racing driver, former Formula One driver, and team owner.[3] He participated in 75 Grands Prix, debuting on 7 September 1986.[4] In 2006 he raced in the inaugural season of the Grand Prix Masters formula for retired Formula One drivers.[5] He currently serves as the team owner of NASCAR Whelen Euro Series team Academy Motorsport and had acted as an owner-driver during the team's previous guise as Alex Caffi Motorsport.

Early life

Caffi was born in Rovato (province of Brescia), in Northern Italy.[2] He spent three years in Italian Formula Three from 1984 to 1986, finishing runner-up in 1984 and 1985, then third in 1986.[6] 1986 also saw him land a one-off drive with the Osella Formula One team.[6]

Formula One career

1980s

1986

Caffi was handed his Formula One debut by Osella, at his, and the team's home race, the Italian Grand Prix,[6] in place of Canadian Allen Berg.[7] Qualifying 27th[8] and last in his FA1H (because of a quirk where for this race, and the following one in Portugal, 27 cars were allowed to start) Caffi drove sensibly and steadily to stay out of trouble and come home last of the runners, albeit six laps down[9] and unclassified.

1987

Osella were impressed by his sensible approach, and signed him for a full season in 1987.[5] The Alfa Romeo-powered FA1I was uncompetitive and unreliable; Caffi finished no races out of 16 and failed to qualify twice, though he was classified once.[8] At the opening round, the Brazilian Grand Prix, Caffi retired after 21 laps due to exhaustion[8] as the heat and physically demanding nature of the car proved too much.

The San Marino Grand Prix, three weeks later, provided Caffi with his only classification of the year, 12th, despite running out of fuel five laps from the finish.[8] Then came a run of 10 consecutive retirements; in Belgium, Monaco, where he qualified an excellent 16th and ran as high as 10th, the United States, where he qualified 19th, France, Great Britain, Germany, Hungary, Austria, Italy and Portugal.[8]

As the season drew to a close, Caffi failed to qualify for two of the final four races in Spain and Australia, bookending retirements in Mexico, where he ran as high as 7th due to attrition, and Japan where he ran out of fuel.[8] Despite finishing so few races, none were down to driver error, though Caffi was unclassified in the Drivers' Championship.[10]

1988

1988 saw Caffi switch to the new Scuderia Italia team.[6] Early season form was thin. Their challenger for the season, the Dallara built and Ford-Cosworth powered F188 was not ready for the first race in Brazil, so to fulfil the championship's requirements of entering every race, a modified Formula 3000 car, the 3087, was used as a stop-gap.[11] Not surprisingly, Caffi failed to pre-qualify.[8]

The new car arrived in time for San Marino, but fortunes failed to improve as Caffi retired[8] and an excellent 17th in qualifying at Monaco[8] was ruined when he crashed all alone on the opening lap, the first blot on his career copybook. Caffi's third retirement in a row in Mexico[8] and failure to qualify in Canada[8] only added to the nightmare.

Mid-season though saw a turnaround in both Caffi's, and the team's season, with four finishes on the spin; 8th in the United States, 12th in France after qualifying 14th, 11th in Great Britain and 15th in Germany after qualifying 19th.[8]

Form during the following five races was patchy. Three top-10 finishes; 8th in Belgium after qualifying 15th, 7th in Portugal (his best career finish at the time) after qualifying 17th and 10th in Spain after qualifying 18th, were scattered around a couple of retirements; in Hungary where he qualified in the top-10 for the first time in 10th, and Italy.[8]

1988 concluded with a brace of retirements in Japan, where he spun off, and after qualifying 11th in Australia.[8] For the second season in a row Caffi was unclassified in the Drivers' Championship.[10]

1989
Caffi driving the Dallara 189 at the 1989 Belgian Grand Prix.

Scuderia Italia expanded to a two-car outfit for the 1989 season, with fellow Italian Andrea de Cesaris in the second Pirelli shod F189.[12] As with the previous year, Caffi failed to pre-qualify for the opening round in Brazil,[8] but San Marino, next on the calendar, saw Caffi qualify 9th and finish just outside the points in 7th.[8]

Momentum continued onto Monaco with another top-10 in qualifying, 9th,[8] followed by the first Formula One points for himself and the team with an excellent drive to 4th.[5] 13th in Mexico was followed by retirement in the United States,[8] when Caffi, who qualified 6th[8] and at one stage was running 2nd[5] only to Alain Prost, was pushed into the wall rather comically whilst trying to lap teammate Andrea de Cesaris.[5]

A second points finish of 6th in Canada[8] was another highlight but Caffi's season rarely peaked after that with just two finishes in the final 10 races; 7th in Hungary (after qualifying a stunning 3rd) and 9th in Japan.[8]

Failure to finish in France, Germany, Belgium, after spinning off, Italy, Portugal where he qualified 7th then collided with three-time World Drivers' Champion Nelson Piquet, Spain and Australia, where he qualified 10th before spinning off, along with a failure to pre-qualify in Great Britain rounded off an inconsistent year.[8] Four points and 19th in the Drivers' Championship were Caffi's rewards.[10]

1990s

1990

Caffi, by now gaining a reputation as a promising talent, was tempted to Arrows for 1990[5] as Japan's Footwork Corporation were investing in the team throughout the year (to the extent that Arrows was renamed Footwork from 1991 to 1996) and Porsche had agreed to supply engines to the squad. Caffi was signed to drive the second A11 alongside another Italian, 1985 World Drivers' Championship runner-up Michele Alboreto.[13]

Injury caused by a pre-season cycling accident forced Caffi to sit out the opening race in the United States, with German Bernd Schneider filling the gap.[14] Retirement in Brazil and failure to qualify in San Marino[8] only compounded Caffi's woes.

The following four races were patchy with a 5th, and two points, in Monaco followed by an 8th in Canada, failure to qualify in Mexico and retirement in France.[8] Five consecutive top-10 finishes mid-season; in Great Britain, Germany, Hungary, Belgium and Italy brought about a consistency to Caffi's performance.[8]

His, and everybody's, Portuguese Grand Prix was ended early when he crashed into the Lola of Aguri Suzuki[15] and the resulting foot injuries ruled Caffi out of the next race, Spain, with Schneider once again deputising.[16]

Another positive performance of 9th in Japan was cancelled out by failure to qualify for the final round in Australia.[8] Over the course of the season Caffi scored all the team's points and outperformed the more experienced Alboreto to end 1990 with two points and 16th in the Drivers' Championship.[10]

1991

As Caffi's career gradually rose in stock throughout the previous year, 1991 looked promising for the Italian. Unfortunately, the season turned out to be anything but. The Porsche 3512 V12 was cumbersome and underpowered, whilst both cars, the A11C and the FA12 were little better.[17]

For the first time in his Formula One career, Caffi failed to qualify for any of the opening four races; in the United States, Brazil, San Marino, and Monaco.[8]

The latter would be best remembered for a huge crash in practice,[5] when Caffi slid off line and into the barriers at the Swimming Pool series of corners. The impact was so heavy, the car broke in three; the gearbox and rear wing broke free from the engine, which in turn came clear of the tub.[17] Despite suffering no serious injuries as a result of the crash,[17] Caffi was injured shortly after in a road accident.[5]

As a result, Footwork drafted in Stefan Johansson for the races in Canada, Mexico, France and Great Britain[18] and when Caffi returned to fitness, he discovered the team were trying to keep the Swede on. He managed to regain his seat via a legal injunction, but the struggles re-commenced with failure to qualify in Belgium compounded by pre-qualification failures in Germany, Hungary, Italy, Portugal and Spain.[8]

The season ended on a slightly higher note, as Caffi finished 10th in Japan and kept his head above water to finish 15th in the deluge in Australia.[8] A season of catastrophe yielded no points and no classification in the Drivers' Championship.

1992

Footwork signed Aguri Suzuki to partner Michele Alboreto ahead of the 1992 season[4] and Caffi was, rather abruptly, shown the door. With little time to find a drive, and most seats taken, he had no option but to sign for the new Andrea Moda team,[5] alongside Italian Enrico Bertaggia. The team, owned by shoe-magnate and playboy Andrea Sassetti, had bought out the Coloni squad in 1991 and planned to use their C4 chassis with Judd V10 power for the new season.[19]

However, registration problems with the FIA (involving Sassetti's refusal to pay the $100,000 entrance fee for new teams) meant that Caffi managed no more than a few exploratory laps at the South African Grand Prix, the opening round of 1992.[19] Before the next round in Mexico, the team's new car, the Nick Wirth-designed S921, was built and prepared but freight delays forced Sassetti to withdraw both Caffi and Bertaggia from the Mexican event.[19]

After two races Caffi had had enough, voiced his displeasure of the situation and was fired by Sassetti, with Brazilian super-sub Roberto Moreno taking his seat.[19] No points from both races meant no classification in the Drivers' Championship, but more significantly, it signalled the end of the Italian's Formula One career at the age of 28.

Later life

After F1 he raced on and off in sports and touring cars, mainly in the United States, where in 1998 he had an IRL test at Pikes Peak Raceway.[6] After a brief career in Spanish and Italian Touring Cars,[2] Caffi found his niche in sportscars, racing in GTs,[2] FIA Sportscar, and ALMS. He returned to International motorsport in the IRC Rally Monte-Carlo 2011, driving a Skoda Fabia S2000. 25 years after his Formula 1 career Italian Alex Caffi won on the streets of the Principality during the Monaco Grand Prix Historique 2016. Caffi was one of the high-profile winners during the 10th running of the GP Historique when he guided the Kessel Racing Ensign N176 to victory in the Pre 1977 3-litre F1 race.

In 2016, Caffi formed his own racing team Alex Caffi Motorsport. Alex Caffi Motorsport entered the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series on the same year as its formation, competing on a part-time basis for its debut season before stepping up to full-time competition in 2017.[20] The team took part in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series under the Alex Caffi Motorsport guise for five seasons before it was rebranded to Academy Motorsport in 2021 after entrepreneur Federico Monti became the co-owner of the team.[21] Academy continues to compete in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series to this day,[2] currently fielding the #1 Ford Mustang and #5 EuroNASCAR FJ 2020 in both EuroNASCAR PRO and EuroNASCAR 2.[22][23]

When he is not racing he is an instructor at the official Subaru Italia safety driving and racing school.[6]

Racing record

Complete Formula One results

(key)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 WDC Points
1986 Osella Squadra Corse Osella FA1G Alfa Romeo V8 BRA ESP SMR MON BEL CAN DET FRA GBR GER HUN AUT ITA
NC		 POR MEX AUS NC 0
1987 Osella Squadra Corse Osella FA1I Alfa Romeo V8 BRA
Ret		 SMR
12		 BEL
Ret		 MON
Ret		 DET
Ret		 GBR
Ret		 GER
Ret		 HUN
Ret		 AUT
Ret		 ITA
Ret		 POR
Ret		 ESP
DNQ		 MEX
Ret		 JPN
Ret		 AUS
DNQ		 NC 0
Osella FA1G FRA
Ret
1988 Scuderia Italia Dallara 3087 Cosworth V8 BRA
DNPQ		 NC 0
Dallara 188 SMR
Ret		 MON
Ret		 MEX
Ret		 CAN
DNPQ		 DET
8		 FRA
12		 GBR
11		 GER
15		 HUN
Ret		 BEL
8		 ITA
Ret		 POR
7		 ESP
10		 JPN
Ret		 AUS
Ret
1989 Scuderia Italia Dallara 189 Cosworth V8 BRA
DNPQ		 SMR
7		 MON
4		 MEX
13		 USA
Ret		 CAN
6		 FRA
Ret		 GBR
DNPQ		 GER
Ret		 HUN
7		 BEL
Ret		 ITA
11		 POR
Ret		 ESP
Ret		 JPN
9		 AUS
Ret		 19th 4
1990 Footwork Arrows Racing Arrows A11B Cosworth V8 USA BRA
Ret		 SMR
DNQ		 MON
5		 CAN
8		 MEX
DNQ		 FRA
Ret		 GBR
7		 GER
9		 HUN
9		 BEL
10		 ITA
9		 POR
13		 ESP JPN
9		 AUS
DNQ		 16th 2
1991 Footwork Grand Prix International Footwork A11C Porsche V12 USA
DNQ		 BRA
DNQ		 NC 0
Footwork FA12 SMR
DNQ		 MON
DNQ		 CAN MEX
Footwork FA12C Cosworth V8 FRA GBR GER
DNPQ		 HUN
DNPQ		 BEL
DNQ		 ITA
DNPQ		 POR
DNPQ		 ESP
DNPQ		 JPN
10		 AUS
15
1992 Andrea Moda Formula Coloni C4B Judd V10 RSA
EX		 NC 0
Andrea Moda S921 MEX
DNP		 BRA ESP SMR MON CAN FRA GBR GER HUN BEL ITA POR JPN AUS
Sources:[24][25]

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
1999 France Courage Compétition Italy Andrea Montermini
Italy Domenico Schiattarella		 Courage C52-Nissan LMP 342 6th 5th
2004 Germany Seikel Motorsport Italy Gabrio Rosa
Netherlands Peter van Merksteijn Sr.		 Porsche 911 GT3-RS GT 148 DNF DNF
2007 Netherlands Spyker Squadron b.v. Italy Andrea Belicchi
Switzerland Andrea Chiesa		 Spyker C8 Spyder GT2-R GT2 145 DNF DNF
Sources:[26][27]

Complete Grand Prix Masters results

(key) Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap.

Year Team Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5
2006 Team Altech Delta Motorsport GPM Nicholson McLaren 3.5 V8 QAT ITA
C		 GBR
5		 MAL
C		 RSA
C
Source:[5]

Complete NASCAR results

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Whelen Euro Series – Elite 1

NASCAR Whelen Euro Series – Elite 1 results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 NWES Pts Ref
2016 Alex Caffi Motorsport 23 Ford VAL VAL VEN VEN BRH BRH TOU TOU ADR
7		 ADR
5		 ZOL
20		 ZOL
6		 19th 284 [28]
2018 1 VAL VAL FRA
22		 FRA
11		 BRH BRH TOU TOU HOC HOC ZOL ZOL 42nd 41 [29]
2019 VAL VAL FRA
28		 FRA
18		 BRH BRH MOS MOS VEN HOC HOC ZOL ZOL 42nd 28 [30]

References

  1. ↑ "Pilote des 24 heures du Mans : Alessandro Giuseppe Caffi". www.24h-en-piste.com (in French). Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Brown, Allen. "Alex Caffi". oldracingcars.com. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  3. ↑ Watkins, Gary. "Ex-F1 racers Nicola Larini and Alex Caffi join Bentley GT effort". Autosport.com. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  4. 1 2 "Formula One driver Alex Caffi survives horrific crash in 1991 Monaco Grand Prix practice run". headlinesurfer.com. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Alex Caffi - Motor Sport Magazine Database". motorsportmagazine.com. 12 June 2017. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Alex Caffi". grandprix.com. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  7. ↑ "Formula One: Italian Grand Prix - Motor Sport Magazine Archive". motorsportmagazine.com. 7 July 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 "Alex CAFFI - Involvement". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  9. ↑ "Standings". formula1.com. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  10. 1 2 3 4 "Alex CAFFI F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  11. ↑ "Cutting Class - 1988 Dallara 3087 Ford - DriveTribe". drivetribe.com. 24 November 2016. Archived from the original on 15 October 2018. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  12. ↑ "MCZ F1: BMS Scuderia Italia". www.mcz.com. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  13. ↑ "Arrows Grand Prix". grandprix.com. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  14. ↑ "United States GP, 1990". grandprix.com. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  15. ↑ "Portuguese GP, 1990". grandprix.com. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  16. ↑ "Iberian Interlude - Motor Sport Magazine Archive". motorsportmagazine.com. 7 July 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  17. 1 2 3 "A Disaster for Porsche----Footwork FA12". carthrottle.com. 5 February 2016. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  18. ↑ "Stefan JOHANSSON - Involvement". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  19. 1 2 3 4 "F1 Failures: Andrea Moda - The Checkered Flag". thecheckeredflag.co.uk. 8 November 2009. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  20. ↑ "Alex Caffi Unveils Alex Caffi Motorsports NWES Team". speedwaydigest.com. Speedway Digest. 27 May 2016. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  21. ↑ "A NEW TEAM READY TO TAKE ON EURONASCAR: ACADEMY MOTORSPORT". euronascar.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. 27 January 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  22. ↑ "Academy Motorsport / Alex Caffi Motorsport rinforza la squadra con Deodhar" [Academy Motorsport / Alex Caffi Motorsport boosts team with Advait Deodhar]. erregimedia.com (in Italian). ErregìMedia S.r.l. 28 April 2023. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  23. ↑ "VLADIMIROS TZIORTZIS MAKES THE STEP UP TO EURONASCAR PRO WITH ACADEMY / ALEX CAFFI MOTORSPORT". euronascar.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. 14 December 2022. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  24. ↑ "Alex Caffi – Involvement". StatsF1. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
  25. ↑ Small, Steve (2000). "Caffi, Alex". Grand Prix Who's Who (Third ed.). Reading, Berkshire: Travel Publishing. pp. 116–118. ISBN 978-1-902007-46-5 – via Internet Archive.
  26. ↑ "Alex Caffi Results". Motorsport Stats. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
  27. ↑ "Alex Caffi". Automobile Club de l'Ouest. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
  28. ↑ "Alex Caffi – 2016 Whelen Euro Elite 1 Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
  29. ↑ "Alex Caffi – 2018 Whelen Euro Elite 1 Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
  30. ↑ "Alex Caffi – 2019 Whelen Euro Elite 1 Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
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