Alfa Romeo began motor racing almost immediately after its foundation. A.L.F.A. ventured into motor racing in 1911, with drivers Franchini and Ronzoni competing in the Targa Florio with two 24 HP models. The marque's first success came in 1913 when Nino Franchini finished second in the Parma-Poggio Berceto race with a 40/60 HP. Giuseppe Merosi built a racing car named "Grand Prix" in 1914. In 1920, Giuseppe Campari won the race at Mugello with a 40/60 HP, while Enzo Ferrari was second in Targa Florio in the same year. Ugo Sivocci won the 1923 Targa Florio with an RL, and his car was painted with the green cloverleaf that became Alfa's symbol.
In 1923, automobile designer Vittorio Jano joined Alfa from FIAT, designing engines that led to racing success into the late 1930s. Alfa Romeo triumphed at the first Automobile World Championship in 1925, winning the European Grand Prix at Spa and the Italian Grand Prix at Monza.
Jano designed the P3 in 1932, which won its first race driven by Tazio Nuvolari at the Italian Grand Prix. The P3 continued to win races even after Alfa Romeo became insolvent in 1933 and was transferred to Enzo Ferrari's team, Scuderia Ferrari. Tazio Nuvolari notably won the 1935 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring with the P3.
Alfa Romeo's cars won the Targa Florio six times in a row in the 1930s and the Mille Miglia every year from 1928 to 1938, except for 1931. The 8C 2300 won the Le Mans 24 Hours from 1931 to 1934. In 1938, Clemente Biondetti won the Mille Miglia in an 8C 2900B Corto Spider.
Alfa Romeo participated in Formula One as both a constructor and engine supplier from 1950 to 1987. The works Alfa Romeo team dominated the first two years of the Formula One World Championship with the pre-war 158/159 Alfetta, but withdrew at the end of 1951. During the 1960s, minor teams like LDS, Cooper, and De Tomaso used Alfa Romeo straight-four engines. The Brabham team used Alfa Romeo engines from 1976 to 1979, preceding Alfa Romeo's return as a constructor from 1979 to 1985. Alfa Romeo also supplied engines to the Osella team from 1983 to 1987.
In November 2017, Sauber signed a partnership with Alfa Romeo, renaming to Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team for the 2018 season. On February 1, 2019, Sauber announced it would compete as Alfa Romeo Racing for the 2019 season. Alfa Romeo ended their partnership with Sauber at the end of the 2023 season.
Alfa Romeo has also supplied engines to Formula Three cars, winning multiple FIA European Formula 3 Championship and FIA European Formula 3 Cup titles, as well as national championships. From 2019 to 2020, a Tatuus T-318 powered by an Autotecnica Motori tuned Alfa Romeo engine was used in the Formula Regional European Championship, the Formula Regional Asian Championship, and the W Series.
After the success of the Trofeo Alfasud one-make championship, Alfa Romeo launched the Formula Alfa Boxer racing car in 1987. Amato Ferrari won the debut championship in 1987. The last Formula Alfa Boxer series season was held in 1995.
From 1989 to 1991, Alfa Romeo participated in the PPG Indy Car World Series. The engine was mated to a chassis built by March and prepared by Alex Morales Motorsports, with Roberto Guerrero at the wheel. The team later switched to Patrick Racing and then to a Lola chassis with Danny Sullivan driving. Alfa Romeo finished its Indy Car project without scoring a podium, pole position, or race win.
Alfa Romeo cars have been used in rallying, primarily by private teams. In the 1950s, the Alfa Romeo Giulietta won the 1957 Tour de Corse and the 1958 1000 Lakes Rally. Autodelta built racing versions of the Alfetta GT and GTV in the 1970s. The Alfetta GTV Turbodelta was homologated in FIA Group 4 in 1980. In 1986, the Alfa Romeo GTV6 was a fast Group A rally car, placing 3rd in the 1986 Tour de Corse.
Autodelta was established on March 6, 1963, to run Alfa Romeo's sportscar program, directed by Carlo Chiti. Competing with the Alfa Romeo TZ, the team achieved wins in its 1.6 category, including the 1964 Coppa F.I.S.A., the 1964 12 Hours of Sebring, and the 1964 Nürburgring 1000 km. In 1967, Carlo Chiti and the Autodelta team designed a V8 engine for their Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 sportscar and later a flat-12 engine for the Alfa Romeo 33TT12. These cars raced in the World Sportscar Championship from 1967 to 1977, winning the World Championship for Makes in 1975 with the 33TT12 and the World Championship for Sports Cars in 1977 with the Alfa Romeo 33SC12.
Starting from the 1960s, Alfa Romeo has won many touring car titles. The Alfa Romeo GTA won the European Touring Car Championship (ETCC) in 1966, 1967, and 1969. The later Alfa Romeo GTAm won further ETCC titles in 1970, 1971, and 1972. The Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV6 won four consecutive European Touring Car Championship titles between 1982 and 1985. The British Touring Car Championship was won in 1983 by Andy Rouse driving an Alfetta GTV6 and again in 1994 by Gabriele Tarquini with an Alfa Romeo 155.
In 1993, the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft (DTM) series was won by Nicola Larini with an Alfa Romeo 155 V6 Ti. The successor, the Alfa Romeo 156, won the European Touring Car Championship four times in a row from 2000 to 2003, with Fabrizio Giovanardi and Gabriele Tarquini. In recent years, the Alfa Romeo Giulietta has competed in various TCR Touring Car series worldwide, with drivers like Mario Ferraris, Petr Fulín, and Michela Cerruti competing in the 2016 TCR International Series.
This article is based solely on the supplied corpus. No external sources were consulted; claims that could not be substantiated against the corpus were omitted under the drop-the-claim rule.