Osella FA1F Alfa Romeo V8 Turbo F1 12° Dutch GP 1984

Raceland Gold Edition made by Spark. Exclusive model.

Austrian Jo Gartner was one of those tenacious individuals who, despite limited financial resources, made it from Formula 3 to Formula 2. He was his own mechanic with his Spirit 201 BMW which he raced in the 1983 European F2 Championship with the support of Salzburg-based engineering company EMCO. With iron will and talent, he achieved a highly acclaimed victory at the French F2 Grand Prix at Pau. The state-owned Austria Tabak, with its Milde Sorte cigarette brand, then enabled the Viennese driver to realise his big dream of Formula 1 in 1984. Osella used the budget to build a second FA1F with an Alfa Romeo V8 turbo, which Gartner raced alongside Piercarlo Ghinzani from the British Grand Prix at Brands Hatch onwards.

The turbo engines, which all teams except Tyrrell used, had to make do with less fuel in 1984. This was an additional problem for the Alfa Romeo V8 Turbo, which suffered from excess weight and had a power deficit of a good 30 hp anyway. Like all designs of that year, the Osella was also equipped with the typical additional side rear wings. After three retirements, Jo Gartner finished twelfth at Zandvoort before causing a minor sensation with fifth place at Monza. But all this was not enough to secure a new F1 contract for 1985, and the Austrian switched to sports cars, where he enjoyed success in the IMSA and for Kremer Racing in Europe. Gartner died in a horrific night-time accident at Le Mans in 1986.