After the disappointments of the team's first two races, Alfa Romeo skipped the next four and arrived at Monza for the Italian Grand Prix in September with a two-car team for the first time. Giacomelli was driving the new 179 while Vittorio Brambilla was hired to drive the 177. Brambilla had been out of F1 for a year after injuries sustained at Monza the previous year, in the same crash that killed Ronnie Peterson. Brambilla, who had been at the wheel of a Surtees that day, qualified a lowly 22nd, four seconds off Jabouille's pole time and over half a second behind Giacomelli in the new car. Although Emerson Fittipaldi and de Angelis passed him on lap 11, in general his position improved through the race as others hit trouble, including Giacomelli, who spun off on lap 29, leaving Brambilla's 177 as the sole Alfa representative. Although he was passed late on by Alan Jones, fighting through the pack after his early troubles in the Williams, some other retirements allowed him to finish a creditable 12th, only a lap behind Jody Scheckter's winning Ferrari. This would remain Alfa's best result of the season, even though new 179s were provided for both drivers in the remaining two races.