Tyrrell 001 F1 car
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Constructor: | Tyrrell |
Designer: | Derek Gardner |
Chassis: | Aluminium monocoque |
Engine: | Cosworth DFR V8 |
Wheelbase: | 2388 mm |
Mass: | 545 kg |
Tire: | Dunlop (1970) |
The Tyrrell 001 is the first self-constructed racing car of the former British Formula 1 team Tyrrell from the early 1970s.
History
The Tyrrell Racing organization had competed since the 1950s in Formula Junior, Formula 3 and Formula 2. After running temporary Cooper Formula 2 and Formula 1 factory teams in the 1960s, With Ken Tyrrell's racing team, which had used only customer vehicles from other manufacturers since 1968, became an independent designer. The 001 replaced in the fall of 1970 the March 701, with which the team had started so far. The single piece remained only until spring 1971 in use; after that this was replaced by the advanced models 002, 003 and 004. Ken Tyrrell brought his own team to Formula One in 1968. For the first two years, Tyrrell was a pure customer team. The chassis supplier was the French manufacturer Matra, who also had a factory team based in France. While Matra, however, used its own twelve-cylinder engine, Tyrrell used the new Cosworth-DFV eight-cylinder, which was more compact, lighter and stronger than the French aggregate. The combination of Matra chassis and Cosworth engine was successful from the beginning.
In the first year Tyrrells driver Jackie Stewart won three Grand Prix, and in 1969 he was with six victories with 63 points driver world champions. In 1970, Tyrrell separated from Matra. The French manufacturer, which had come under the control of the Chrysler Group, no longer supported the connection of its chassis with a Ford- funded Cosworth engine. Matra tied the further delivery of chassis on the condition that used Tyrrell Matras twelve-cylinder engine in the future. Ken Tyrrell, who was convinced of the qualities of the lightweight and powerful Cosworth DFV engine, then turned away from Matra. After Tyrrell attempts customer vehicles from BRM, McLaren and Lotus to take over, had failed, he opted for the construction of an own racing car, until its completion transitional three 701 chassis from March Engineering was used. Ken Tyrrell was not satisfied with the March cars.
Tyrrell's first Formula One car was designed by Derek Gardner, who previously worked for Ferguson Research and was not well known in the motorsport industry. The car was created under the greatest secrecy. Gardner developed the car in his private apartment in Leamington Spa. Many parts he ordered in his own name without reference to Tyrrell suppliers. In the summer of 1970, the individual components were finally assembled in a workshop on the premises of the timber business, the Ken Tyrrell business with his brother in Ockham. The development and construction of the Tyrrell 001 cost a total of £ 22,500; a new March 701 cost less than half. The 001 remained a unique piece. The experience from his missions flowed into the construction of the 002 and 003, which appeared in 1971 and are considered improved versions of the 001.
Derek Gardner based his design in some details on the Matra MS80, with which Tyrrell had won in 1969. The car had an Aluminium monocoque with a body that tapered off in the centre of the car. The structure of the Matra MS80 was very similar in this respect. There were also similarities with the wide front wing and the cooling air inlets in the vehicle nose. The hot air was channelled around the cockpit with wings positioned over the suspension. The front suspension consisted of double wishbones; Rear was above and below wishbone with push rods installed. The rear suspension was attached to the engine by means of a subframe. The car had four fuel tanks, which were housed centrally between the front and the rear axle. As drive Tyrrell used the now established Cosworth DFV engine with 3.0 litre displacement; the power transmission took over a five-speed transmission from Hewland (FG40). The Tyrrell 001 weighed 545 kg. Thus 15 kg above the minimum weight, but was significantly lighter than the March 701, which weighed 565 or 590 kg depending on the source.
The Tyrrell 001 was launched in nine Formula 1 races; five of them were World Championship races, four were races without world championship status. The car was reserved for Jackie Stewart, the top driver of the Tyrrell team. Stewart's team-mate François Cevert did not use the 001 in any World Championship race. He received only in 1971 the newly built 002.
In the 1970 season, the Tyrrell 001 reached no finish line. In the first few months, the 001 suffered from a lack of oil and fuel supply, plus reliability problems. The 001 debuted in late August 1970 at the Oulton Park Gold Cup, a championship-free race in Cheshire. Stewart started because of technical problems from the end of the field. Also, in the race there were repeated problems that forced Stewart to several pit stops. On the other hand, he drove the temporarily fastest lap twice during the race. Ultimately, he failed due to a defect in the oil supply.
The first World Cup run of the Tyrrell 001 was the Canadian Grand Prix, which took place a month later in Mont-Tremblant. Stewart qualified by a tenth of a second for Jacky Ickx (Ferrari) for the pole position. In the race he led for several laps, but then fell out after an axle damage in the 32nd round. In the subsequent race in the US Stewart started from second behind Ickx. Again, Stewart temporarily took the lead. After two thirds he had to give up because of oil loss. At the last race of the season in Mexico Stewart again qualified for the second starting position. He also could not finish this race. On lap 27, he left after a collision with a running on the track dog because his suspension had been damaged.
In the 1971 season Stewart was only at the inaugural race in South Africa with the 001 at the start. Prior to the race, Stewart had completed extensive tire testing for Goodyear in Kyalami in 001. The insights gained helped the team make the best use of the tires during the season. In the qualifying session for the Grand Prix of South Africa drove Stewart in 001 the fastest time; his lap time was half a second under the time of Chris Amon at the factory Matra. In the race, however, Stewart fell back because of poor engine performance. He came second behind Mario Andretti (Ferrari) to the finish. That was the only goal finish of the 001 in a world championship race.
In the following three months, the 001 appeared in three British races that had no World Cup status. The Race of Champions and the Questor Grand Prix in Ontario, California completed Stewart in second place in 001, the Oulton Park Spring Trophy in April 1971 in third place. After that, Tyrrell first put the 001 down. Stewart received the newly built Tyrrell 003, which largely corresponded to the 002 used by François Cevert since the beginning of the season. The 001 came in October 1971 at the US Grand Prix in 1971 for its last use, when Tyrrell reported alongside Stewart (Tyrrell 003) and Cevert (002), a third car for Peter Revson. It was Revson's first Formula One race in seven years. He qualified the 001 for the 19th starting position. In the race he fell out in the first lap after a clutch damage.
