Rial: The Return of Günter Schmidt. After the intriguing yet complex and troubled story that saw the German entrepreneur create the ATS team in the 1970s and 1980s, Schmidt was forced at the end of the 1984 season to shut down his Formula 1 team due to budget constraints and the loss of technical and financial support from BMW. Around the same time, he sold his company, Auto Technisches Spezialzubehör, which had inspired the name ATS and specialized in rims for sports cars. Yet this didn’t discourage the spirited German businessman. In 1987, he decided to jump back into the game by purchasing Rial, a small wheel manufacturing company also involved in the sports car market and based in Fußgönheim, in southwestern Germany.
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| RIAL ARC1, Andrea de Cesaris Montecarlo, Monaco GP 1988 |
Once he regained financial stability, Schmidt couldn't resist the dream of re-entering Formula 1. A comeback was planned for the 1988 season, taking advantage of new regulations that favored naturally aspirated engines, which were more affordable than the latest generation turbo engines. The new team took its name from Schmidt’s company and was called Rial Racing. It entered the 1988 season with strong ambitions. As technical director, Schmidt hired a familiar face: Austrian engineer Gustav Brunner, who had previously designed many ATS cars and had since grown into one of the most prominent designers in the paddock, with recent experience at Ferrari.
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| RIAL ARC1, Andrea de Cesaris Montecarlo, Monaco GP 1988 |
The new Rial ARC1, designed by Brunner, closely resembled the Ferrari F1-87, also designed by Brunner, so much so that it featured an almost identical carbon fiber monocoque chassis and front suspension layout, earning it the nickname “the Blue Ferrari.” Aesthetic differences were most noticeable in the sidepods, where the lack of bulky turbo radiators allowed Brunner to significantly reduce the size, and in the rear, where the larger Ford-Cosworth DFR V8 engine forced a more spartan design without full engine covering. By mid-season, however, the rear of the ARC1 was fully faired, adopting the classic "coke bottle" shape to improve aerodynamic downforce.
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| RIAL ARC1, Andrea de Cesaris Jacarepaguà, Brazilian GP 1988 |
The ARC1’s most distinctive feature was the placement of the front dampers horizontally above the chassis, an innovation that later became widely adopted among designers. Thanks to support from personal sponsor Marlboro, the team chose the lightning-fast but inconsistent italian driver Andrea de Cesaris, despite his reputation as a “car wrecker.” This didn't sit well with the team’s tight budget or Schmidt’s infamously tough personality, and in fact, the Italian driver was dismissed at the end of the season despite achieving solid results. The ARC1 proved capable of strong performances, often qualifying just behind the top cars, but its reliability was poor, leading to many retirements even from promising positions. It wasn’t until mid-season that the car found some consistency, allowing De Cesaris to finish three races in a row, including a remarkable fourth place in Detroit.
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| RIAL ARC1, Andrea de Cesaris Monza, Italian GP 1988 |
After the French Grand Prix, yet another argument between Schmidt and Brunner led to the Austrian engineer leaving the team. This caused a performance slump due to the lack of ongoing development. Despite this, the season wasn’t without its highlights, and the fourth place in Detroit stood out as a major achievement. With three points, the German team finished thirteenth in the Constructors’ Championship. However, both the Roman driver and the Austrian technician permanently left the Rial team at the end of the year.
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