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Osella

Full name	Osella Squadra Corse
Base	Verolengo,Italy[1]
Founder(s)	Enzo Osella
Noted drivers	Eddie Cheever Piercarlo Ghinzani Jean-Pierre Jarier Jo Gartner Huub Rothengatter Nicola Larini Riccardo Paletti
Next name	Fondmetal
Formula One World Championship career
First entry	1980 Argentine Grand Prix
Races entered	172 (132 starts)
Engines	Ford-Cosworth,Alfa Romeo, Osella
Constructors' Championships	0(best finish: 12th,1984)
Drivers' Championships	0(best finish: 19th,Piercarlo Ghinzani,1984)
Race victories	0(best finish: 4th,1982 San Marino Grand Prix)
Pole positions	0(best grid position: 8th,1990 United States Grand Prix)
Fastest laps	0
Final entry	1990 Australian Grand Prix

Osella is an Italian racing car manufacturer and formerFormula One team. They participated in 132Grands Prix between 1980 and 1990. They achieved two points finishes and scored five world championship points.

Osella was founded inVolpiano in 1965 by former rally driverEnzo Osella. The team began life by racingAbarthsports cars among local and national races in Italy since 1965. In 1974, Osella took over the factory Abarth sports car program and expanded into single-seater racing. In 1975, the team entered theEuropean Formula Two Championship withGiorgio Francia andDuilio Truffo, achieving some success with its own car, theBMW-poweredOsella FA2.

Osella continued in Formula Two the following season, but financial problems meant that the team was not competitive and withdrew from the championship before the end of the season. In the following years, the FA2s were occasionally entered by privateers, one of them being the Swiss touring car driverCharly Kiser. The experience prompted Osella to try to become a manufacturer for other teams. The Osella FA3Formula Three car, powered withToyota orLancia engines, competed in the 1976German and Italian F3 championships without making any great impression. After this, the team concentrated on running in local sports car events during 1977 and 1978.

Osella returned to the European Formula Two Championship in1979, with American driverEddie Cheever racing the well-used FA2, again powered by a BMW engine. The car was good enough to win three races and take Cheever to fourth in the championship. After securing the sponsorship of theEnte Tabacchi Italiani tobacco company via their flagship brandMS, Enzo Osella decided to upgrade his activities toFormula One.

Osella's first Formula One car, the FA1, was designed byGiorgio Stirano. Powered byFord Cosworth DFV, the car was presented in a black and white livery with largeDenim branding on the sidepods. After a difficult beginning of the season,Eddie Cheever was able to qualify regularly but finished just one race in the whole season. The car suffered from unreliability problems and was aerodynamically inefficient. Many components were manufactured in-house – a strategy that although financially viable, often resulted in poorly designed material.

For the 1982 season, Osella fielded two cars, one forJean-Pierre Jarier and one forRiccardo Paletti. The team hiredGiorgio Valentini andTony Southgate to design a new car, with input from Enzo Osella himself. Most of these attempts brought little improvement as high-tech solutions could not be financed. Jarier finished fourth atImola in1982 (where only 14 cars started) and scored the first Championship points for the young team in a car that was by now dubbedOsella FA1C. Towards the end of the season tragedy struck, whenRiccardo Paletti was killed in a start-line accident at the1982 Canadian Grand Prix.

In 1983 the team regrouped, and hiredPiercarlo Ghinzani andTeo Fabi's younger brotherCorrado Fabi, who had just won theFormula Two European championship. Lack of funding and reliability issues prevented the drivers to qualify for many of the events on the calendar, Fabi's 10th place at the Deutch Grand Prix the best result of the season. For 1984 Osella retained Ghinzani and gave the second car to the young AustrianJo Gartner. Ghinzani was able to score points when he finished fifth at the1984 Dallas Grand Prix. Gardner finished fifth atMonza but both him and countrymanGerhard Berger, who had finished sixth on ATS, didn't receive any points as their teams at the beginning of the season had only officially entered one car. For the 1985 season, Ghinzani was paired withHuub Rothengatter but none of the two were able to score any points. In 1986, in order to stay afloat, the team started asking their drivers to bring sponsorship. Whilst some of the drivers who started theirF1 careers with the team would go on to have respectable careers, such asAlex Caffi andGabriele Tarquini, others disappeared as quickly as they had come, such asAllen Berg andFranco Forini. None of these drivers were able to push the team forward, and Osella continued with little or no improvement in competitiveness.

In the mid-1980s, Osella was the beneficiary of factoryAlfa Romeo engines, both innaturally-aspirated (1983–84) andturbo (1984–88) forms. The Alfa engine program helped the team to survive the increasingly professional turbo era but it failed to improve its competitiveness. The Alfa turbo engine, the890T, was not reliable. Turbos blew up regularly and power output had to be reduced down to the level of the non-turbo cars just to achieve the necessary reliability. Alfa Romeo's chief designer,Carlo Chiti, offered some technical input to the team. Beginning with the 1984Osella FA1F, which was based on the 1983 worksAlfa Romeo 183T, all the following Osella models up to theFA1L in1988 had their origins in the initial Alfa design.

For 1988 – the last year before turbos were banned – the team re-branded the 890T as the "Osella V8". This came about after Alfa's parent company,Fiat, grew tired of the negative publicity the team had given the 890T and, while allowing them to continue using the engine, refused to allow the Alfa Romeo name to be used.

After driverNicola Larini managed some impressive times in pre-season testing atMonza, the team were quietly confident of a decent showing through 1988, as many teams had switched to naturally-aspirated engines in preparation for 1989. However, theOsella FA1L, with its outdated turbo, was not up to the challenge. Larini often failed to qualify or even pre-qualify, and was also excluded from theSan Marino Grand Prix before practice after failing to get through scrutineering due to illegal changes made to the chassis. At the end of the season,Enzo Osella terminated his agreement withAlfa Romeo.

The 1989 season saw some improvement. The all-new,Cosworth DFR-poweredOsella FA1M performed better in the qualifying sessions (most notably in theJapanese Grand Prix, where Larini qualified 10th). The fine qualifying performance, however, didn't translate into good results in the races. The cars rarely saw the finish line due to several technical failures. The most frustrating race was the Canadian Grand Prix, where Larini had climbed to third during the race but retired when the FA1M's electrics failed due to water ingress. At the end of the season, on the occasion of theAustralian Grand Prix, Ghinzani suffered a high-speed collision with theLotus ofNelson Piquet, leaving him with an injured ankle. Right after, Ghinzani announced his retirement.

In 1990,Enzo Osella sold shares in his team to metalwork magnateGabriele Rumi, as part of a sponsorship deal with Rumi'sFondmetal company. During1990, the team entered a single car for French driverOlivier Grouillard. At the end of 1990, Rumi took over the remainder of the team and renamed it Fondmetal. The involvement of Rumi meant the end of Osella's activities in Formula One.

During his Formula One years, Osella had continued building sports cars. In fact this was one of the few projects that regularly brought work and money to Volpiano, especially inhillclimb races, withMauro Nesti many times winner of European and Italian Championship, and many other drivers, withOsella PA9 andOsella PA9/90 models.

A few of those sports cars even found their way to theCan Am series, although without much success. The most prestigious result was during the1984 Can Am season with a third place in the championship for the 2-litre class; the car was theOsella PA10 driven byArmando Trentini, and was the only two-seater in the championship; the rest of the 2-litre class field comprised single-seater F2 cars with covered wheels.

In the 1990s, Osella moved toAtella in the south of Italy where he built a new ultra-modern facility to produce some very competitive sports cars. Many of them were sold to privateers, while others were entered in several classes by the Osella works team. The works team was particularly successful inhillclimb races. In 1995 Osella works team driverPasquale Irlando won all 9 races of theEuropean Hillclimb Championship using theOsella PA20. He won the title in 1997, 1998 and 1999 consecutively. His successorFabio Danti died in one of Osella's cars when he was competing in the 2000 Championship. Hillclimb stars likeFranz Tschager andMartin Krisam continue to use Osella cars. In 2001 the factory was transferred back near Turin, inVerolengo, and continued activity building sport cars for hill climbing and minor sport race championship.

At the end of 2022, Osella Motorsports LTD merged with Osella Engineering. Under the leadership ofEnzo Osella andGiuseppe Angiulli, the company, now known as Osella corse, produced cars such as the PA21 JrB from the E2B class, that can be equipped with motorcycling propellers from 1000 to 1600 cc., with a set-up both for hill climbing and track. This new collaboration, according toEnzo Osella, "breathed life into Osella and also into the spirit that has been driving the team".

(key)

Year	Chassis	Engine	Drivers	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14
1974	Osella PA2	BMW		BAR	HOC	PAU	SAL	HOC	MUG	KAR	PER	HOC	VAL
			Arturo Merzario										Ret
1975	Osella FA2 March 742	BMW		EST	THR	HOC	NÜR	PAU	HOC	SAL	ROU	MUG	PER	SIL	ZOL	NOG	VAL
			Giorgio Francia	4	10	5	6	Ret	5	5	DNS		4	9	5	Ret	Ret
			Diulio Truffo	5	6	8	Ret	6	6	Ret		5	5	Ret
			Roberto Filannino												15	Ret	DNQ
			Arturo Merzario											Ret			Ret
1976	Osella FA2	BMW		HOC	THR	VAL	SAL	PAU	HOC	ROU	MUG	PER	EST	NOG	HOC
			Giorgio Francia	DNQ	Ret	11
			Gianfranco Trombetti	Ret	Ret	DNQ
			Arturo Merzario												DNQ
1979	Osella FA2/79	BMW		SIL	HOC	THR	NÜR	VAL	MUG	PAU	HOC	ZAN	PER	MIS	DON
			Eddie Cheever	1	5	Ret	8	Ret	Ret	1	Ret	1	5	6	7
Source:[2]

(key) (results inbold indicate pole position)

Year	Chassis	Engines	Tyres	Drivers	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	WCC	Points
1980	FA1	Cosworth DFV 3.0V8	G		ARG	BRA	RSA	USW	BEL	MON	FRA	GBR	GER	AUT	NED	ITA	CAN	USA			NC	0
				Eddie Cheever	DNQ	DNQ	Ret	Ret	DNQ	DNQ	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	12	Ret	Ret
1981	FA1B FA1C	Cosworth DFV 3.0V8	M		USW	BRA	ARG	SMR	BEL	MON	ESP	FRA	GBR	GER	AUT	NED	ITA	CAN	CPL		NC	0
				Miguel Ángel Guerra	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	Ret
				Piercarlo Ghinzani					13	DNQ
				Giorgio Francia							DNQ
				Jean-Pierre Jarier									8	8	10	Ret	9	Ret	Ret
				Beppe Gabbiani	Ret	DNQ	DNQ	Ret	Ret	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ
1982	FA1C	Cosworth DFV 3.0V8	P		RSA	BRA	USW	SMR	BEL	MON	DET	CAN	NED	GBR	FRA	GER	AUT	SUI	ITA	CPL	12th	3
				Jean-Pierre Jarier	Ret	9	Ret	4	Ret	DNQ	Ret	Ret	14	Ret	Ret	Ret	DNQ	Ret	Ret	DNS
				Riccardo Paletti	DNQ	DNPQ	DNQ	Ret	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNS	Ret
1983	FA1D	Cosworth DFV 3.0V8	M		BRA	USW	FRA	SMR	MON	BEL	DET	CAN	GBR	GER	AUT	NED	ITA	EUR	RSA		NC	0
				Corrado Fabi	Ret	DNQ	Ret	Ret	DNQ	Ret	DNQ	Ret
				Piercarlo Ghinzani	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ
	FA1E	Alfa Romeo 1260 3.0V12		Corrado Fabi									DNQ	DNQ	10	11	Ret	DNQ	Ret
				Piercarlo Ghinzani				DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	Ret	DNQ	Ret	Ret	11	DNQ	Ret	Ret	Ret
1984	FA1F	Alfa Romeo 890T 1.5V8t	P		BRA	RSA	BEL	SMR	FRA	MON	CAN	DET	DAL	GBR	GER	AUT	NED	ITA	EUR	POR	12th	2
				Piercarlo Ghinzani	Ret	DNS	Ret	DNQ	12	7	Ret	Ret	5	9	Ret	Ret	Ret	7	Ret	Ret
				Jo Gartner										Ret	Ret	Ret	12	5‡	Ret	16
	FA1E	Alfa Romeo 1260 3.0V12		Jo Gartner				Ret
1985	FA1F FA1G	Alfa Romeo 890T 1.5V8t	P		BRA	POR	SMR	MON	CAN	DET	FRA	GBR	GER	AUT	NED	ITA	BEL	EUR	RSA	AUS	NC	0
				Piercarlo Ghinzani	12	9	NC	DNQ	Ret	Ret	15	Ret
				Huub Rothengatter									Ret	9	NC	Ret	NC	DNQ	Ret	7
1986	FA1G FA1F FA1H	Alfa Romeo 890T 1.5V8t	P		BRA	ESP	SMR	MON	BEL	CAN	DET	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	AUT	ITA	POR	MEX	AUS	NC	0
				Piercarlo Ghinzani	Ret	Ret	Ret	DNQ	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	11	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret
				Christian Danner	Ret	Ret	Ret	DNQ	Ret	Ret
				Allen Berg							Ret	Ret	Ret	12	Ret	Ret		13	16	NC
				Alex Caffi													NC
1987	FA1I FA1G	Alfa Romeo 890T 1.5V8t	G		BRA	SMR	BEL	MON	DET	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	AUT	ITA	POR	ESP	MEX	JPN	AUS	NC	0
				Alex Caffi	Ret	12	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	DNQ	Ret	Ret	DNQ
				Gabriele Tarquini		Ret
				Franco Forini											Ret	Ret	DNQ
1988	FA1I FA1L	Osella 890T 1.5V8t	G		BRA	SMR	MON	MEX	CAN	DET	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	POR	ESP	JPN	AUS	NC	0
				Nicola Larini	DNQ	EX	9	DNQ	DNQ	Ret	Ret	19	Ret	DNPQ	Ret	Ret	12	Ret	Ret	DNPQ
1989	FA1M	Cosworth DFR 3.5V8	P		BRA	SMR	MON	MEX	USA	CAN	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	POR	ESP	JPN	AUS	NC	0
				Nicola Larini	DSQ	12	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	Ret	DNPQ	Ret	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	Ret	DNPQ	Ret	Ret	Ret
				Piercarlo Ghinzani	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	Ret	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	Ret	DNPQ	Ret
1990	FA1M-E	Cosworth DFR 3.5V8	P		USA	BRA	SMR	MON	CAN	MEX	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	POR	ESP	JPN	AUS	NC	0
				Olivier Grouillard	Ret	Ret	Ret	DNQ	13	19	DNPQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNPQ	16	Ret	DNQ	Ret	DNQ	13
Sources:[2][3]

^‡ Not eligible for points.

• Official Osella sitehttps://www.osella.it/wrp/en/# Accessed 9 April 2020 (in English)
• Osella book - Enzo Osella (Italian) HardcoverISBN 978-8882299217, English versionISBN 8882299279

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