[3] Caffi was handed his Formula One debut by Osella, at his, and the team's home race, the Italian Grand Prix,[3] in place of Canadian Allen Berg.

[4] Qualifying 27th[5] and last in his FA1H (because of a quirk where for this race, and the following one in Portugal, 27 cars were allowed to start) Caffi drove sensibly and steadily to stay out of trouble and come home last of the runners, albeit six laps down[6] and unclassified.

[5] At the opening round, the Brazilian Grand Prix, Caffi retired after 21 laps due to exhaustion[5] as the heat and physically demanding nature of the car proved too much.

[5] The new car arrived in time for San Marino, but fortunes failed to improve as Caffi retired[5] and an excellent 17th in qualifying at Monaco[5] was ruined when he crashed all alone on the opening lap, the first blot on his career copybook.

[7] 13th in Mexico was followed by retirement in the United States,[5] when Caffi, who qualified 6th[5] and at one stage was running 2nd[7] only to Alain Prost, was pushed into the wall rather comically whilst trying to lap teammate Andrea de Cesaris.

[11] Injury caused by a pre-season cycling accident forced Caffi to sit out the opening race in the United States, with German Bernd Schneider filling the gap.

[5] His, and everybody's, Portuguese Grand Prix was ended early when he crashed into the Lola of Aguri Suzuki[13] and the resulting foot injuries ruled Caffi out of the next race, Spain, with Schneider once again deputising.

[15] For the first time in his Formula One career, Caffi failed to qualify for any of the opening four races; in the United States, Brazil, San Marino, and Monaco.

[7] As a result, Footwork drafted in Stefan Johansson for the races in Canada, Mexico, France and Great Britain[16] and when Caffi returned to fitness, he discovered the team were trying to keep the Swede on.

The team, owned by shoe-magnate and playboy Andrea Sassetti, had bought out the Coloni squad in 1991 and planned to use their C4 chassis with Judd V10 power for the new season.

[18] However, registration problems with the FIA (involving Sassetti's refusal to pay the $100,000 entrance fee for new teams) meant that Caffi managed no more than a few exploratory laps at the South African Grand Prix, the opening round of 1992.

[18] Before the next round in Mexico, the team's new car, the Nick Wirth-designed S921, was built and prepared but freight delays forced Sassetti to withdraw both Caffi and Bertaggia from the Mexican event.

[18] After two races Caffi had had enough, voiced his displeasure of the situation and was fired by Sassetti, with Brazilian super-sub Roberto Moreno taking his seat.

[18] No points from both races meant no classification in the Drivers' Championship, but more significantly, it signalled the end of the Italian's Formula One career at the age of 28.

Alex Caffi Motorsport entered the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series on the same year as its formation, competing on a part-time basis for its debut season before stepping up to full-time competition in 2017.