Tyrrell RSS
Great Britain

  • Team founded 1970
  • Principal Ken Tyrrell
  • [team_achievements] Constructor's championship 1971
World Championship Career
Year Engine Driver Race Start Won Pod Class Best 1+2 Pole Front Best Lap Pts Pos
1970 Ford J Stewart 3 3 0 0 0 - 0 1 3 1 0 0 -
1971 Ford AF Cevert, PJR Revson, J Stewart 11 23 7 11 16 1 2 6 10 1 4 73 1
1972 Ford AF Cevert, PAEJ Depailler, J Stewart 12 25 4 7 15 1 1 2 4 1 4 51 2
1973 Ford CA Amon, AF Cevert, E Keizan, J Stewart 15 30 5 15 25 1 3 3 6 1 2 86 2
1974 Ford PAEJ Depailler, E Keizan, JD Scheckter 15 31 2 7 23 1 1 1 3 1 3 52 3
1975 Ford PAEJ Depailler, JP Jabouille, M Leclère, I Scheckter, JD Scheckter 14 31 1 4 23 1 0 0 2 2 1 25 5
1976 Ford PAEJ Depailler, K Hoshino, A Pesenti-Rossi, I Scheckter, JD Scheckter, O Stuppacher 16 37 1 12 25 1 1 1 4 1 2 71 3
1977 Ford PAEJ Depailler, BR Peterson, K Takahashi 17 35 0 4 16 2 0 0 0 3 1 27 6
1978 Ford PAEJ Depailler, D Pironi 16 32 1 5 18 1 0 0 0 5 0 38 4
1979 Ford DP Daly, JPJP Jarier, G Lees, D Pironi 15 31 0 4 18 3 0 0 0 4 0 28 5
1980 Ford DP Daly, JPJP Jarier, M Thackwell 14 29 0 0 16 4 0 0 0 9 0 12 6
1981 Ford M Alboreto, EM Cheever, K Cogan, RH Zunino 15 26 0 0 14 4 0 0 0 8 0 10 10
1982 Ford M Alboreto, KET Borgudd, B Henton 16 32 1 2 21 1 0 0 0 3 2 25 6
1983 Ford M Alboreto, DJ Sullivan 15 30 1 1 14 1 0 0 0 6 0 12 7
1984 Ford S Bellof, M Brundle, SNE Johansson, M Thackwell 12 21 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 11 0 0 -
1985 Ford S Bellof, M Brundle, SNE Johansson 9 14 0 0 11 4 0 0 0 18 0 4 9
Renault S Bellof, M Brundle, IF Capelli, P Streiff 10 14 0 0 8 4 0 0 0 16 0 3 10
1986 Renault M Brundle, P Streiff 16 32 0 0 18 4 0 0 0 10 0 11 7
1987 Ford JC Palmer, P Streiff 16 31 0 0 24 4 0 0 0 13 0 11 6
1988 Ford J Bailey, JC Palmer 15 20 0 0 11 5 0 0 0 10 0 5 8
1989 Ford M Alboreto, JR Alesi, J Herbert, JC Palmer 16 29 0 1 17 3 0 0 0 7 1 16 5
1990 Ford JR Alesi, S Nakajima 16 30 0 2 15 2 0 0 0 3 0 16 5
1991 Honda S Modena, S Nakajima 16 32 0 1 16 2 0 0 1 2 0 12 6
1992 Ilmor A de Cesaris, O Grouillard 16 32 0 0 12 4 0 0 0 7 0 8 6
1993 Yamaha A de Cesaris, U Katayama 16 32 0 0 11 10 0 0 0 13 0 0 -
1994 Yamaha M Blundell, U Katayama 16 32 0 1 11 3 0 0 0 5 0 13 7
1995 Yamaha U Katayama, M Salo, G Tarquini 17 33 0 0 17 5 0 0 0 7 0 5 9
1996 Yamaha U Katayama, M Salo 16 32 0 0 14 5 0 0 0 8 0 5 8
1997 Ford M Salo, J Verstappen 17 34 0 0 16 5 0 0 0 14 0 2 10
1998 Ford R Rosset, T Takagi 16 26 0 0 12 8 0 0 0 13 0 0 -
Total 431 839 23 77 457 1 8 14 33 1 20
Race Circuit Date
First race Canadian Grand Prix Mont-Tremblant September 20, 1970 Race results
Last race Japanese Grand Prix Suzuka November 1, 1998 Race results
Profile

Tyrrell was one of the independent teams that took Formula One to new heights in the early 1970s. Sadly, it was on the skids by the 1980s and failed to see out the 1990s. Ken Tyrrell became captivated by racing in the 1950s. He raced until 1958 before concentrating on management and founding the Tyrrell Racing Team in 1960. Fortuitously, he managed the Cooper Formula One team when John Cooper was injured in a road accident and made a strong impression with his tactical nous. His path to the top, however, was linked to his discovery of a young Scot called Jackie Stewart.

Stewart was given his break when one of Tyrrell's drivers, Timmy Mayer, was killed when racing in the Tasman series early in 1964. Tyrrell was advised to give Stewart a test in one of his Formula Three cars and, when the Scotsman lapped faster than Bruce McLaren, Ken signed him.

Stewart then drove for Tyrrell in Formula Two while spending three years racing in Formula One for BRM. Tyrrell finally got to run him in Formula One in 1968. Using chassis from Matra and the Ford Cosworth DFV, Stewart only lost out on the title to Graham Hill at the final round. In 1969, the Stewart-Matra combination was unbeatable, winning six races en route to collecting both the drivers' and constructors' titles.

With Matra declining to build a car to accept the Cosworth DFV, preferring to use its own V12 engines, which Stewart did not want, it was all change for 1970. As the 1969 Matra chassis no longer conformed to the rules, Tyrrell was forced to run a March chassis. However, he employed Derek Gardner to pen the first Tyrrell chassis which was raced towards the end of the season, and which led both the Canadian and the United States Grands Prix.

Stewart and Tyrrell were dominant in 1971, and the team's French blue livery and Elf signage were seen at the head of almost every grand prix as Stewart collected six wins and his second title. Tyrrell ran a second car, with Francois Cevert winning the final round.

Stewart's 1972 campaign was interrupted after he suffered from an ulcer, but he returned in 1973 to clinch his third title. Stewart had told Tyrrell in April of his intention to retire after the last grand prix, at Watkins Glen. With the title won at Monza, he never got to race at the Glen, as Cevert died in practice and the team's entry was withdrawn.

In the immediate post-Stewart era, Patrick Depailler and Jody Scheckter won races for Tyrrell and the team developed the P34 six-wheeler for 1976. The theory was that four small wheels at the front would put more rubber onto the road while cutting aerodynamic resistance. Scheckter and Depailler finished one-two at Anderstorp then Ronnie Peterson replaced Scheckter for 1977, but, by then, the P34s were uncompetitive. After finishing second eight times, Depailler finally won, at Monaco in 1978, but the Tyrrell team did not win another grand prix until Michele Alboreto took a win in each of 1982 and 1983 to bring the team's tally since 1970 to 23 wins.

Through the 1980s and early 1990s, the Tyrrell team was a shadow of its former self. The low spot was having its results annulled in 1984 for an alleged technical irregularity, negating the input of rookies Stefan Bellof and Martin Brundle, who had finished third at Monaco and second at Detroit respectively. The high spot was Jean Alesi making the most of Harvey Postlethwaite's 018 and 019 chassis in 1990 to finish second at Phoenix and Monaco.

The 1994 season was Tyrrell's best for years as it ranked sixth. Then Mika Salo ran third on his debut in Brazil in 1995 before suffering cramp, spinning and ending up seventh.

The following year was no better and Tyrrell's decline continued into 1997, with Salo and Jos Verstappen struggling, except in the wet at Monaco where Salo salvaged fifth.

The 1998 season was the team's last. Tyrrell had been sold to British American Racing so it could gain a championship entry for a team it was setting up to run in 1999. Set up by Jacques Villeneuve's manager Craig Pollock and American manufacturer Reynard, it would include nothing of Tyrrell's heritage. Ken Tyrrell quit once it became clear he would have no influence over driver choice. He died in 2001.

Reproduced from The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Formula One published by Carlton Books

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