Team story
Origins
To enter Grand Prix racing, Giuseppe Lucchini's BMS Scuderia Italia chose Dallara to build its chassis. The Varano de' Melegari company had existed since 1972 and already had single-seater experience. The championship programme began in 1988 with Alex Caffi: the 3087 appeared in Brazil, while the first start came at Imola with the F188.
The Formula 1 journey
Andrea de Cesaris secured the first podium in Canada in 1989. The second came with JJ Lehto at Imola in 1991 in the F191. Between those episodes were uneven seasons in which qualification was not always assured.
In 1992 Pierluigi Martini joined Lehto in the F192, the last Dallara used by Scuderia Italia in the championship.
Historical timeline
Three chapters in the story of Dallara
Three episodes to revisit the people, cars and races that shaped this journey.
First appearance · San Marino Grand Prix
Alex Caffi · San Marino Grand Prix 1988. The recorded outcome is DNF. This is the first recorded race start, or the first entry if the team never started a race.
Sporting landmark · Canadian Grand Prix
Andrea de Cesaris · Canadian Grand Prix 1989. The recorded position is P3; this number alone does not show whether the driver completed the race distance. This marks the first win or podium where one exists, otherwise the highest recorded placing for this constructor.
Latest recorded appearance · Australian Grand Prix
Pierluigi Martini · Australian Grand Prix 1992. The recorded outcome is DNF. This is the last race start attributed to this constructor in the archive, not necessarily the end of the organisation behind it.
A distinctive way of racing
The partnership clearly separated responsibilities: BMS ran the team and Dallara built the cars. After the Ford-Cosworth engines, the compact Judd V10 was adopted in 1991, powerful but fragile according to Scuderia Italia's own account. A 1991-specification Ferrari V12 followed the next year.
Each change required chassis adaptations without producing a steady improvement in results.
What remains
Scuderia Italia continued with Lola in 1993, so that season does not belong to Dallara's championship career as a constructor. For the company from the Parma area, racing work continued on a much wider scale: its first Indianapolis victory came in 1998. The five seasons with BMS remain a distinct chapter from its later role as a chassis supplier to other categories.