Constructors

Merzario

Arturo Merzario was not finished with Formula 1 when he could no longer find drives and so decided to establish his own Grand Prix team. The operation was announced at the Italian GP in 1977 and the first bulky-looking car - designated the A1 - appeared at the start of 1978.

The team was run by Gianfranco Palazzoli and Merzario managed to qualify in eight of the 16 races, although he failed to finish a race. The team started 1979 with a modified version of the same car but at the Spanish GP appeared with a new ground-effects car, called the A2, which was built to a design by Giorgio Valentini. Merzario failed to qualify the car and Gianfranco Brancatelli had a similar experience when he drove the car in qualifying at Monaco. In the mid-season Merzario bought the Kauhsen F1 project and the Merzario A4 was based on this car, although modifications were made to the design by Giampaolo Dallara. Merzario battled with this car until the end of the year but never qualified.

For the 1980 season Merzario withdrew from F1 and fitted a BMW F2 engine into the back of the A4. This was renamed an M1 and the cars were driven by Merzario, Guido Dacco and Piero Necchi. The M2 followed in 1981 but the team enjoyed more success with customer Marches. He ran Marches in 1982 but in 1983 produced a new car called the M28, designed by Ernesto Degan. This showed some promise in the course of the year in the hands of Frenchman Richard Dallest. The final Merzario was the M84, a reworked version of the M28, which was run for a variety of drivers in 1984.

Merzario also built a Formula 3 car in 1983. This was driven without success by Roberto Campominosi, a useful local driver.