The continued success of Autodelta, Alfa Romeo’s racing division led by Carlo Chiti, in sports prototype categories, convinced Alfa Romeo’s management to attempt an entry into Formula 1, initially as an engine supplier. At the same time, Bernie Ecclestone, owner of Brabham, was looking for a more competitive engine than the Ford-Cosworth V8, capable of matching Ferrari’s V12. This led the British team, based in Chessington, Surrey, to turn to the Milanese manufacturer, and in December 1974, an initial collaboration agreement was signed between Autodelta-Alfa Corse and Brabham.
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| 1 BRABHAM BT45, Carlos Pace Silverstone, British GP 1976 |
Despite the positive public announcements, tensions between the Italian and British sides arose almost immediately. Alfa Romeo envisioned a true technical and sporting partnership, while Bernie Ecclestone, an astute manager and manipulator, saw the Italian manufacturer merely as a supplier of mechanical components, despite the signed contracts and grand press statements. Ecclestone’s trusted designer, Gordon Murray, began working on the new BT45, the first Brabham designed specifically to use the Alfa Romeo Tipo 115.12 engine. This was a flat-12 (180° V12) unit capable of producing 500 hp, paired with a Hewland/Brabham six-speed gearbox.
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| BRABHAM BT45, Carlos Pace Montecarlo, Monaco GP 1976 |
The chassis was a monocoque aluminum structure with double wishbone suspension in a pull-rod configuration, featuring coil springs and anti-roll bars. The car retained the distinctive snowplow-style front air intakes from previous Brabham models but featured wider and more horizontal sidepods due to the larger dimensions of the Italian V12, which replaced the more compact and lightweight British V8. The air intakes for the engine were positioned on its sides and continuously changed shape and placement throughout the season. The larger cooling surfaces remained in the snowplow-style nose, although alternative configurations, such as mounting the radiators in front of the rear wheels, were tested on multiple occasions. The ongoing search for solutions to the overheating problems of the Alfa Romeo V12, which generated significantly more heat than the previous Ford V8, meant that the BT45 underwent frequent modifications, particularly at the rear.
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| BRABHAM BT45, Carlos Pace Jarama, GP di Spagna 1976 |
The car made its debut in October 1975, unveiled to the press at Alfa Romeo’s Balocco test track near Milan. However, the presentation held some surprises for the Italian media. The car was painted in Brabham’s traditional white rather than Alfa Romeo’s signature red, and the driver lineup remained unchanged from 1975, with Brazilian Carlos Pace and Argentine Carlos Reutemann. This contradicted speculation in the Italian press, which had expected an Italian driver, most notably Arturo Merzario, to be signed as the team’s second driver. The BT45, now painted in Alfa Romeo red and featuring Martini sponsorship, debuted in the third race of the 1976 season in Brazil. However, from the outset, the car struggled with setup issues, particularly due to the engine’s weight and the placement of the fuel tanks, which had to hold more fuel than rival cars.
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| BRABHAM BT45, Larry Perkins Mosport Park, Canadian GP 1976 |
Reliability issues with the Italian V12, originally designed for sports prototype racing—where engines were not pushed to their limits as in Formula 1—also became a major problem. As a result, the BT45 managed only three fourth-place finishes throughout the season, scoring just nine points. This left Ecclestone’s team ninth in the constructors' championship at the end of 1976. At the Italian Grand Prix in Monza, Carlos Reutemann left Brabham to join Ferrari. His seat was taken by German driver Rolf Stommelen for the Italian race and then by Australian Larry Perkins, who drove the BT45 for the remainder of the season.
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