Although Alfa Romeo did not win a race that season largely due to horrendous unreliability, they were often up there with the front runners, although the team's season was marred by the death of Depailler at a testing session at Hockenheim in Germany when he crashed horrendously and went into trees after blacking out whilst taking the ultra-fast Ostkurve nearly flat out at 270 km/h (170 mph).
Although Alfa Romeo did not emerge victorious that season largely due to extreme unreliability problems, they frequently vied for position alongside the leading contenders, although their campaign was severely disrupted by the fatal crash of Depailler during a testing session at Hockenheim in Germany when he lost control and crashed into trees while taking the Ostkurve at an extremely high speed.