Fondmetal S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of alloy wheels, founded in 1972 by Gabriele Rumi.[1]
A Formula One constructor of the same name, also owned by Rumi, competed in the and seasons,[1] scoring no championship points. The company also sponsored, and supplied wheels to, numerous other constructors from the mid-1980s to the early 2000s.
In 2014 the Fondmetal brand expanded to the United States and became known as Fondmetal USA. All wheels continue to be made in Italy and are TÜV approved.
Early years
In 1961, Gabriele Rumi took over the iron foundry business that had been established by his grandfather in Brescia.[2] A motor racing enthusiast, the business allowed him to compete in hillclimbs and in the Formula Monza category during the 1960s.
Rumi had a passion for cars and racing and saw a demand for the manufacturing of parts for the automobile industry. In Palosco they made induction manifolds, water conduits, clutch bellhousing, oil pumps, cylinder heads and engine blocks for clients such as Maserati Biturbo, Fiat, Iveco, OM and Magneti Marelli.
For Rumi this was not enough. He found himself too reliant on his customers in a sensitive time period following the oil crisis. This led him to launch his own product line in 1972.
The choice of product was alloy wheels, due to his involvement and passion for the automobile industry. From there the Fondmetal brand grew, and was established as a leader in forged and cost wheel design, engineering and manufacturing in Italy.
Team Fondmetal
Rumi transferred the team from Volpiano near Turin to his headquarters in Bergamo and ran it for one and a half years on his own. He initially persevered with Osella's driver, Olivier Grouillard, until he tired of the Frenchman's reckless side and attitude problem, replacing him with Gabriele Tarquini. The new team was no more successful than in the Osella days, sometimes the results being even worse than those of its fellow back row contenders Coloni or AGS.
1991
For the 1991 Formula One season, Osella Squadra Corse was gone; the team re-appeared as Fondmetal Corse. Initially, Fondmetal entered the FA1M-E car which was a mere carry-over from the previous year (and, in fact, from 1989 as Osella had not been able to construct a new car in 1990). Driven by Olivier Grouillard, the blue and grey coloured machine was uncompetitive by any means. Although Fondmetal was able to use Cosworth engines prepared by Brian Hart for the previous years' Tyrrell, even Pedro Chaves in his Coloni was ahead of the Fondmetal car. In that hostile atmosphere, pre-qualification turned out to be impossible. But Rumi had high hopes for the European season. By the San Marino Grand Prix, a new car appeared, called the Fomet-1.
Later relations with other teams
Forti Corse
During 1992 Sergio Rinland and his Astauto team started to work on a 1993 F1 car in the hope that Fondmetal would carry on. That was not the case, since the contract was cancelled by Fondmetal in September 1992, well before the end of the season due to lack of funds. The design of that car was finished in early 1993. A year later, Rinland sold that design to Guido Forti who started running a Formula One team called Forti by 1995. The team's FG01 chassis still had several similarities to the, by then three year-old, 1992 Fondmetal GR02.
Tyrrell and Minardi
Rumi would return to Formula One in a more modest capacity in 1994, with Fondmetal as a technical partner and sponsor of Tyrrell, and for 1996 Minardi. Fondmetal's wind tunnel in Northern Italy was leased to Tyrrell, Minardi and other teams. Rumi would gradually increase his interest in the Faenza outfit, becoming co-owner and chairman, even going as far as rebadging the Ford Zetec-R engines in 2000. However, Rumi was diagnosed with cancer, and was forced to withdraw his backing later that year when the team was sold to Paul Stoddart. Rumi eventually died in May 2001.
Complete Formula One results
(key)
As engine supplier
External links
References
- Larry Edsall. Fondmetal wheels: Track-tested tech and Italian design The Detroit News, 18 December 2014^
- People: Gabriele Rumi Grandprix.com, retrieved 24 October 2013^
- Former Minardi boss dies BBC News, 22 May 2001