Osella was founded in Volpiano in 1965 by former rally driver Enzo Osella. The team began life by racing Abarth sports cars among local and national races in Italy since 1965.

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

In 1974, Osella took over the factory Abarth sports car program and expanded into single-seater racing. In 1975, the team entered the European Formula Two Championship with Giorgio Francia and Duilio Truffo, achieving some success with its own car, the BMW-powered Osella FA2.

Osella's first Formula One car, the FA1, was designed by Giorgio Stirano. Powered by Ford Cosworth DFV, the car was presented in a black and white livery with large Denim branding on the sidepods.

In 1990, Enzo Osella sold shares in his team to metalwork magnate Gabriele Rumi, as part of a sponsorship deal with Rumi's Fondmetal company. This eventually meant the end of Osella's activities in Formula One.

 

Headquartered: Verolengo, Italy,  1980-1990

fa 1b

The Osella FA1B was a Formula 1 racing car developed by the Italian Formula 1 team Osella Squadra Corse and used for six different drivers in the 1980 and 1981 World Championships. It replaced the Osella FA1. With him, the team did not score any world championship points.

Since the very heavy F1A could only be modified to a limited extent, the team management decided in April 1980 to develop a completely new car. It was designed by Enzo Osella and Giorgio Valentini, who had designed the short-lived Merzario A3 for Team Merzario a year earlier.

The FA1B was basically the same as the previous model. The suspension has been slightly reworked. 

As with the FA1, the monocoque of the new vehicle was essentially made of aluminum. However, it was much narrower than that of the FA1. This allowed the surfaces of the sidepods to be widened, which led to an improved effect of the ground effect. 

Osella claimed that the FA1B developed five percent more downforce than the FA1.  The FA1B was also significantly lighter than its predecessor. In many cases, the weight of the FA1B is given as 600 kg. This would have exceeded the minimum weight specified by the regulations by only 5 kg. In the literature, however, there are doubts about the correctness of this value. 

A Cosworth DFV eight-cylinder engine continued to serve as propulsion; the power was transmitted via a Hewland gearbox.

A total of four FA1B vehicles were built. In 1980, a single car (FA1B/1) was built, and in 1981 Osella designed three more examples (FA1B/2, FA1B/3 and FA1B/4). The FA1B/1 was only used in 1980. In 1981, the FA1B/3 and FA1B/4 chassis were launched, but no racing appearances are recorded for the FA1B/2. 

1981

beppe gabbiani

3 litre ford-cosworth dfv engine

zolder-terlaemen

1980-1990

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