Early on in 1986, Haas lost its main sponsor Beatrice. Both their CART Indycar and Formula One project was affected by it. However, Haas continued racing in 1986. In June that same year, the team signed Adrian Newey for three years. Only to leave the teams two months later. The same time the rumours appeared of Bernie Ecclestone purchasing the team. Carl Haas had no more interest in his F1
Once the Formula One was the playground for engineering weirdness and excellence. The best idea’s emerge during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Tyrrell designed the P34, the well-known six-wheeler. Lotus came with the ground effect, and Renault came with the first Turbo engine. There, and there came Lion Grand Prix. A formula 1 car with twelve wheels and powered by a turbine engine! The brainchild of late David Cox. How
Arturo Merzario debuted in 1972 in the Formula One with Scuderia Ferrari. He finished sixth in his first race! Back then, finishing sixth meant one point. After two years with Ferrari and roaming around with Frank Williams Racing Cars, Copersucar-Fittipaldi, March and Walter Wolf Racing Arturo debuted Team Merzario in 1977, his own team. He would race, expect for one race with Shadow, with March 761B the season. Team Merzario
When i published the story of Ekström Grand Prix and the somewhat unbelievable owners Cecilia and George, I received a message from Paul Cherry. Paul worked a couple of months for the team as their Chief Mechanic before Cecilia sacked him. The testimony he told me is marvellous and fits perfectly in the somewhat weird story of an long forgotten attempt to appear on the grid in the mid 1980s.
Let me take you back in the time capsule, it is October 1985. The Formula One is just in their winter sleep as out of sudden the news appears of a new team planning to enter the Formula One in 1986. Good news, as several teams were rumoured and announced to leave the Formula One. Ekström Grand Prix Racing was the name of the team. Under the lead of Swiss-domiciled
Shadow Racing Cars was the brainchild of the notorious Don Nichols. Originally founded as Advanced Vehicle Systems in 1968, the team was first active as a sports car racing team in the CanAm series and later would appear in the Formula One. With a couple of big successes, at the end of 1979 the team was almost bankrupt. They tried it once more with the Shadow DN12 powered by Cosworth.
1989 seemed to be a perfect year for the small Italian team Osella Squadra Corse. Cosworth was supplying the team with engines, while Pirelli improved their qualifying and race tyres. Sadly, 1989 would prove to be the last year for the Osella team with Enzo Osella as team owner. At the end of the season the team was for sale, and believe it or not Piercarlo Ghinzani was interested to
In 1976, Tyrrell arrived in the Formula One with the first six wheeler, the Tyrrell P34 (Project34). The car had four small tyres in front of the car and two normal sized tyres in the back. The car was successful in the two years Tyrrell used the car, it scored several podiums and even won a race. During the same period, 1976/1977 March designed their 2-4-0 six wheeler. Instead of
Arno was active in the 1980s as a small team in Italian F3 and in the middle of 1985, they made the decision to enter Formula One in 1986. The chassis would have been built by the French AGS team, while the engine would have come from Carlo Chiti’s Motori Moderni organisation. The team was financially backed by Jolly Club who came to the team with driver Mario Hytten. It
