Alex Caffi | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Caffi at the1991 United States Grand Prix | |
| Born | Alessandro Giuseppe Caffi (1964-03-18)18 March 1964 (age 61) |
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| Nationality |  Italian |
| Active years | 1986–1992 |
| Teams | Osella,Scuderia Italia,Arrows,Footwork,Andrea Moda |
| Entries | 77 (56 starts) |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Careerpoints | 6 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| First entry | 1986 Italian Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 1992 Mexican Grand Prix |
| 24 Hours of Le Mans career | |
| Years | 1999,2004,2007 |
| Teams | Courage,Seikel,Spyker |
| Best finish | 6th(1999) |
| Class wins | 0 |
Alessandro Giuseppe "Alex"Caffi (born 18 March 1964) is an Italian formerracing driver andmotorsport executive, who competed inFormula One from1986 to1992.
Caffi participated in 75 Grands Prix, debuting on 7 September 1986. In 2006, he raced in the inaugural season of theGrand Prix Masters formula for retired Formula One drivers. He currently serves as the team owner of Academy Motorsport in theNASCAR Euro Series, and acted as anowner-driver whilst it operated as Alex Caffi Motorsport.
Alessandro Giuseppe Caffi was born on 18 March 1964 inRovato,Brescia,Northern Italy.[1][2] He spent three years in ItalianFormula Three from 1984 to 1986, finishing runner-up in 1984 and 1985, then third in 1986. In 1985 he was also the winner of theFIA European Formula 3 Cup.
Caffi was handed his Formula One debut byOsella, at his, and the team's home race, theItalian Grand Prix,[3] in place of CanadianAllen Berg.[4] Qualifying 27th[5] and last in hisFA1H (because of a quirk where for this race, and the following one inPortugal, 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[6] and unclassified.
Osella were impressed by his sensible approach, and signed him for a full season in1987.[7] TheAlfa Romeo-poweredFA1I was uncompetitive and unreliable; Caffi finished no races out of 16 and failed to qualify twice, though he was classified once.[5] At the opening round, theBrazilian Grand Prix, Caffi retired after 21 laps due to exhaustion[5] as the heat and physically demanding nature of the car proved too much.
TheSan 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.[5] Then came a run of 10 consecutive retirements; inBelgium,Monaco, where he qualified an excellent 16th and ran as high as 10th, theUnited States, where he qualified 19th,France,Great Britain,Germany,Hungary,Austria,Italy andPortugal.[5]
As the season drew to a close, Caffi failed to qualify for two of the final four races inSpain andAustralia, bookending retirements inMexico, where he ran as high as 7th due to attrition, andJapan where he ran out of fuel.[5] Despite finishing so few races, none were down to driver error, though Caffi was unclassified in the Drivers' Championship.[8]
1988 saw Caffi switch to the newScuderia Italia team.[3] Early season form was thin. Their challenger for the season, the Dallara built and Ford-Cosworth poweredF188 was not ready for the first race inBrazil, so to fulfil the championship's requirements of entering every race, a modifiedFormula 3000 car, the3087, was used as a stop-gap.[9] Not surprisingly, Caffi failed to pre-qualify.[5]
The new car arrived in time forSan Marino, but fortunes failed to improve as Caffi retired[5] and an excellent 17th in qualifying atMonaco[5] 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 inMexico[5] and failure to qualify inCanada[5] 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 theUnited States, 12th inFrance after qualifying 14th, 11th inGreat Britain and 15th inGermany after qualifying 19th.[5]
Form during the following five races was patchy. Three top-10 finishes; 8th inBelgium after qualifying 15th, 7th inPortugal (his best career finish at the time) after qualifying 17th and 10th inSpain after qualifying 18th, were scattered around a couple of retirements; inHungary where he qualified in the top-10 for the first time in 10th, andItaly.[5]
1988 concluded with a brace of retirements inJapan, where he spun off, and after qualifying 11th inAustralia.[5] For the second season in a row Caffi was unclassified in the Drivers' Championship.[8]
Scuderia Italia expanded to a two-car outfit for the1989 season, with fellow ItalianAndrea de Cesaris in the secondPirelli shodF189.[10] As with the previous year, Caffi failed to pre-qualify for the opening round inBrazil,[5] butSan Marino, next on the calendar, saw Caffi qualify 9th and finish just outside the points in 7th.[5]
Momentum continued ontoMonaco with another top-10 in qualifying, 9th,[5] followed by the first Formula One points for himself and the team with an excellent drive to 4th.[7] 13th inMexico was followed by retirement in theUnited States,[5] when Caffi, who qualified 6th[5] and at one stage was running 2nd[7] only toAlain Prost, was pushed into the wall rather comically whilst trying to lap teammate Andrea de Cesaris.[7]
A second points finish of 6th inCanada[5] was another highlight but Caffi's season rarely peaked after that with just two finishes in the final 10 races; 7th inHungary (after qualifying a stunning 3rd) and 9th inJapan.[5]
Failure to finish inFrance,Germany,Belgium, after spinning off,Italy,Portugal where he qualified 7th then collided with three-time World Drivers' ChampionNelson Piquet,Spain andAustralia, where he qualified 10th before spinning off, along with a failure to pre-qualify inGreat Britain rounded off an inconsistent year.[5] Four points and 19th in the Drivers' Championship were Caffi's rewards.[8]
Caffi, by now gaining a reputation as a promising talent, was tempted toArrows for 1990[7] 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) andPorsche had agreed to supply engines to the squad. Caffi was signed to drive the secondA11 alongside another Italian,1985 World Drivers' Championship runner-upMichele Alboreto.[11]
Injury caused by a pre-season cycling accident forced Caffi to sit out the opening race in theUnited States, with GermanBernd Schneider filling the gap.[12] Retirement inBrazil and failure to qualify inSan Marino[5] only compounded Caffi's woes.
The following four races were patchy with a 5th, and two points, inMonaco followed by an 8th inCanada, failure to qualify inMexico and retirement inFrance.[5] Five consecutive top-10 finishes mid-season; inGreat Britain,Germany,Hungary,Belgium andItaly brought about a consistency to Caffi's performance.[5]
His, and everybody's,Portuguese Grand Prix was ended early when he crashed into theLola ofAguri Suzuki[13] and the resulting foot injuries ruled Caffi out of the next race,Spain, with Schneider once again deputising.[14]
Another positive performance of 9th inJapan was cancelled out by failure to qualify for the final round inAustralia.[5] 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.[8]
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. ThePorsche 3512V12 was cumbersome and underpowered, whilst both cars, theA11C and theFA12 were little better.[15]
For the first time in his Formula One career, Caffi failed to qualify for any of the opening four races; in theUnited States,Brazil,San Marino, andMonaco.[5]
The latter would be best remembered for a huge crash in practice,[7] 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.[15] Despite suffering no serious injuries as a result of the crash,[15] Caffi was injured shortly after in a road accident.[7]
As a result, Footwork drafted inStefan Johansson for the races inCanada,Mexico,France andGreat Britain[16] 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 inBelgium compounded by pre-qualification failures inGermany,Hungary,Italy,Portugal andSpain.[5]
The season ended on a slightly higher note, as Caffi finished 10th inJapan and kept his head above water to finish 15th in the deluge inAustralia.[5] A season of catastrophe yielded no points and no classification in the Drivers' Championship.
Footwork signed Aguri Suzuki to partner Michele Alboreto ahead of the1992 season[17] 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 newAndrea Moda team,[7] alongside ItalianEnrico Bertaggia. The team, owned by shoe-magnate and playboyAndrea Sassetti, had bought out theColoni squad in 1991 and planned to use theirC4 chassis withJudd V10 power for the new season.[18]
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 theSouth African Grand Prix, the opening round of 1992.[18] Before the next round inMexico, the team's new car, theNick Wirth-designedS921, was built and prepared but freight delays forced Sassetti to withdraw both Caffi and Bertaggia from the Mexican event.[18]
After two races Caffi had had enough, voiced his displeasure of the situation and was fired by Sassetti, with Brazilian super-subRoberto Moreno taking his seat.[18] 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.
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.[3] After a brief career in Spanish and ItalianTouring Cars,[2] Caffi found his niche in sportscars, racing in GTs,[2]FIA Sportscar, andALMS. 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 theNASCAR 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.[19] 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.[20] Academy continues to compete in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series to this day,[2] currently fielding the #1Ford Mustang and #5EuroNASCAR FJ 2020 in both EuroNASCAR PRO and EuroNASCAR 2.[21][22]
When he is not racing he is an instructor at the official Subaru Italia safety driving and racing school.[3]
(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 | OsellaFA1G | Alfa RomeoV8 | BRA | ESP | SMR | MON | BEL | CAN | DET | FRA | GBR | GER | HUN | AUT | ITA NC | POR | MEX | AUS | NC | 0 |
| 1987 | Osella Squadra Corse | OsellaFA1I | Alfa RomeoV8 | 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 | |
| OsellaFA1G | FRA Ret | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1988 | Scuderia Italia | Dallara3087 | CosworthV8 | BRA DNPQ | NC | 0 | |||||||||||||||
| Dallara188 | 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 | Dallara189 | CosworthV8 | 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 | ArrowsA11B | CosworthV8 | 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 | FootworkA11C | PorscheV12 | USA DNQ | BRA DNQ | NC | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| FootworkFA12 | SMR DNQ | MON DNQ | CAN | MEX | |||||||||||||||||
| FootworkFA12C | CosworthV8 | FRA | GBR | GER DNPQ | HUN DNPQ | BEL DNQ | ITA DNPQ | POR DNPQ | ESP DNPQ | JPN 10 | AUS 15 | ||||||||||
| 1992 | Andrea Moda Formula | ColoniC4B | JuddV10 | RSA EX | NC | 0 | |||||||||||||||
| Andrea ModaS921 | MEX DNP | BRA | ESP | SMR | MON | CAN | FRA | GBR | GER | HUN | BEL | ITA | POR | JPN | AUS | ||||||
| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 |  Courage Compétition | Andrea MonterminiDomenico Schiattarella | Courage C52-Nissan | LMP | 342 | 6th | 5th |
| 2004 |  Seikel Motorsport | Gabrio Rosa Peter van Merksteijn Sr. | Porsche 911 GT3-RS | GT | 148 | DNF | DNF |
| 2007 | Spyker Squadron b.v. | Andrea Belicchi Andrea Chiesa | Spyker C8 Spyder GT2-R | GT2 | 145 | DNF | DNF |
(key) Races inbold indicate pole position, races initalics indicate fastest lap.
| Year | Team | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Team Altech | Delta Motorsport GPM | Nicholson McLaren 3.5V8 | QAT | ITA C | GBR 5 | MAL C | RSA C |
Source:[7] | ||||||||
(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time.Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
| 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 | [27] | ||
| 2018 | 1 | VAL | VAL | FRA 22 | FRA 11 | BRH | BRH | TOU | TOU | HOC | HOC | ZOL | ZOL | 42nd | 41 | [28] | ||||
| 2019 | VAL | VAL | FRA 28 | FRA 18 | BRH | BRH | MOS | MOS | VEN | HOC | HOC | ZOL | ZOL | 42nd | 28 | [29] | ||||
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Inaugural | FIA European Formula Three Cup Winner 1985 | Succeeded by |
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