The Dallara F189 was a Formula One car designed by Giampaolo Dallara and Mario Tollentino for use by the BMS Scuderia Italia team during the 1989 Formula One season. Its best finish was achieved by Andrea de Cesaris when he finished third at the Canadian Grand Prix.

Dallara F189
Dallara F189 on display, repainted to mimic a 1993 Ferrari F93A
CategoryFormula One
ConstructorDallara
Designer(s)Giampaolo Dallara (Technical Director)
Mario Tollentino (Chief Designer)
PredecessorDallara F188
SuccessorDallara F190
Technical specifications[1]
ChassisCarbon fibre/Kevlar monocoque
Axle trackFront: 1,792 mm (70.6 in)
Rear: 1,676 mm (66.0 in)
Wheelbase2,858 mm (112.5 in)
EngineCosworth DFR 3,494 cc (213.2 cu in), V8, NA, mid-engine, longitudinally-mounted
TransmissionBMS / Hewland 6-speed manual
Power595 hp (443.7 kW)[2]
Fuel500 kg (1,100 lb)
LubricantsAgip
TyresPirelli
Competition history
Notable entrantsBMS Scuderia Italia
Notable driversItaly Alex Caffi
Italy Andrea de Cesaris
Debut1989 Brazilian Grand Prix
RacesWinsPolesF/Laps
16000
Constructors' Championships0
Drivers' Championships0

Development

edit

The Dallara F189, designed by Giampaolo Dallara and Mario Tollentino, was an evolution of the previous year's Dallara F188. It was powered by Cosworth DFR V8 engines prepared by Heini Mader.[3]

Race history

edit

For 1989, BMS Scuderia Italia expanded to a two car team. Alex Caffi remained on the roster, joined by the very experienced Andrea de Cesaris. As Caffi scored no points in 1988, and de Cesaris had scored three points for Rial, this actually meant that Caffi was bumped into pre-qualifying for the first half of the season. However, with a good car and Pirelli's generally strong qualifying tyres this normally was not much of a problem for Caffi.[1]

In the team's other entry, de Cesaris qualified in 15th place for the season opening Brazilian Grand Prix and was classified 13th even though engine problems meant he failed to finish. His best race was in Canada when, in a rain-affected event, he finished third from ninth on the grid (his best qualifying performance of the year).[1] This, his only points finish of the year, was the first of two podiums achieved by Scuderia Italia in Formula One and would prove to be de Cesaris' last podium finish in the category. At the following race in France he failed to qualify, though he made every other race, mostly in the second half of the grid.[1]

Caffi in the meantime failed to pre-qualify in Brazil and he would repeat this feat later in the year at the British Grand Prix. These proved to be anomalies as he made the field for the other 14 races of the season, usually ahead of De Cesaris, and in some cases well inside the top half of the grid.[1] He qualified sixth in Phoenix and ran as high as second at one point before retiring after suffering suspension damage when he was pushed into a concrete barrier while attempting to lap his own team mate Andrea de Cesaris.[4] Later in the year, in Hungary, Caffi did even better by placing his F189 third on the grid behind only the McLaren-Honda of defending World Champion Ayrton Senna and the pole winning Williams-Renault of Riccardo Patrese, both using more powerful V10 engines (immediately behind Caffi on the grid were Patrese's team mate Thierry Boutsen and Senna's team mate, 1989 World Champion Alain Prost).[5] This failed to translate into points however, and he was only seventh in the race itself. Caffi finished in the points on two occasions; fourth at Monaco and sixth in Canada, the only race at which both Dallara drivers finished in the points.[1] These points saw Caffi 'graduate' and not have to pre-qualify for the second half of the season.

By the end of the season, Caffi was ranked 13th, alongside De Cesaris, in the Drivers' Championship with four points. Meanwhile, BMS Scuderia Italia's eight points in total placed them eighth in the Constructors' Championship.[3]

Complete Formula One results

edit

(key) (results in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team Engine Tyres Drivers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Pts. WCC
1989 BMS Scuderia Italia Cosworth DFR V8 P BRA SMR MON MEX USA CAN FRA GBR GER HUN BEL ITA POR ESP JPN AUS 8 8th
Alex Caffi DNPQ 7 4 13 Ret 6 Ret DNPQ Ret 7 Ret Ret Ret Ret 9 Ret
Andrea de Cesaris 13* 10 13 Ret 8* 3 DNQ Ret 7 Ret 11 Ret Ret 7 10 Ret

Notes

edit
  1. ^ a b c d e f Stats F1. "Dallara 189". Retrieved 7 May 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ "Engine Ford Cosworth • STATS F1".
  3. ^ a b Nye, 1992, p. 256
  4. ^ "USA 1989 - Lap by lap". Statsf1. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
  5. ^ "Hungary 1989 - Qualifications". Statsf1. Retrieved 12 June 2016.

References

edit
  • Nye, Doug (1992). Autocourse History of the Grand Prix Car 1966–1991. Richmond, Surrey, United Kingdom: Hazelton Publishing. ISBN 0905138945.