Weird Creatures of Formula 1

Formula 1 is widely seen as the leading authority in automotive technology. This has been for many years (Watch Video), but in the past 10 years there have hardly been any innovative technologies implemented in the F1, very much unlike the prime years of Formula 1 (from 1960 till 1980). These years where characteristic for idea’s that changed the complete sport, but could sometimes look a bit odd. Enter the weird, funny-looking and ingenious world of Formula 1.

Tyrrell P34

The Tyrrell P34 (Project 34), otherwise known as the "six-wheeler", was a Formula One race car designed by Derek Gardner, Tyrrell's chief designer.

The car used four specially manufactured 10-inch-diameter (250 mm) wheels and tyres at the front, with two ordinary-sized wheels at the back. Contrary to popular belief, the idea of the smaller front tyres was not to have a smaller "frontal area" to reduce drag, as the frontal area was still determined by the width of the standard-sized rear slicks. In fact, the six-wheel design reduced the lift caused by two larger front wheels, improving frontal downforce, increased the total contact patch of the front tyres and created a greater swept area for the brake discs.

It first ran in the Spanish GP in 1976, and proved to be very competitive. Both Jody Scheckter and Patrick Depailler were able to produce solid results with the car, but while Depailler praised the car continually, Scheckter realised it would only be temporarily competitive. The special Goodyear tyres were not being developed enough by the end of the season.

The P34's golden moment came in the 1976 Swedish Grand Prix. Scheckter and Depailler finished first and second, and up to this very day Scheckter is the only driver ever to win a race in a six-wheeled car.

Ligier JS5

The Ligier JS5 was the first Formula One racing car made by Ligier. The car, including an oversized airbox that resembled an obese teapot, was designed by Gérard Ducarouge. It competed in the 1976 Formula One season, gaining 20 points and getting 5th place overall in the Constructor's Championship. The car also gave its driver Jacques Laffite and Ligier their first ever pole position at the 1976 Italian Grand Prix at Monza.

Restrictions were introduced limiting both their size and height in the late seventies and the teapot look that the particularly high airboxes created was banished to the history books.

Brabham BT46

The "B" variant of the car, also known as the "fan car", was introduced in 1978. The BT46B generated an immense level of downforce by means of a fan, claimed to be for increased cooling, but which also extracted air from beneath the car. 

When not in use, the fan was covered by a dustbin lid, but it soon became clear what the modified Brabham was intended to achieve: when the drivers blipped the throttle, the car could be seen to squat down on its suspension as the downforce increased. Lotus driver Mario Andretti said "It is like a bloody great vacuum cleaner. It throws muck and rubbish at you at a hell of a rate".

The car only raced once in this configuration in the Formula One World Championship, when Niki Lauda won the 1978 Swedish Grand Prix at Anderstorp. The concept was declared illegal by the FIA before the car could race again. The BT46B therefore preserves a 100% winning record.

Anno 2012

What does this say about Formula 1 anno 2012? Are there no innovations or ingenious technologies added anymore? What happened to the flexible wing of Red Bull Racing, this was really smart right? Well, we at InMotion believe there is a big difference in innovations done by “Rule-bending” and “seeking the gray area’s” compared to life-changing technologies.

To compare for example;  The RBR using exhaust fumes to increase downforce (Watch Video) to the actively controlled vehicle dynamics in the Williams FW14B (Watch Video).

InMotion strives to continue the innovations done by the Williams FW14B, see www.inmotion.tue.nl for more information.