The Shadow DN5 was a

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

car used by the

Shadow A shadow is a dark area where light from a light source is blocked by an opaque object. It occupies all of the three-dimensional volume behind an object with light in front of it. The cross section of a shadow is a two-dimensional silhouette, o ...

team during the

1975 Formula One season The 1975 Formula One season was the 29th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1975 World Championship of F1 Drivers and the 1975 International Cup for F1 Manufacturers which were contested concurrently from 12 January to 5 Oc ...

. Updated to a 'B' specification, it was used through the

1976 Formula One season The 1976 Formula One season was the 30th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1976 World Championship of Drivers and the 1976 International Cup for Formula 1 Manufacturers . The two titles were contested over a sixteen race s ...

and for the first two races of the

following ''Following'' is a 1998 independent neo-noir crime thriller film written, produced, edited and directed by Christopher Nolan. It tells the story of a young man who follows strangers around the streets of London and is drawn into a criminal unde ...

season. It was qualified on pole position three times, and twice achieved a fastest lap in a race. Its best finish in a race was third (twice), both times driven by

Tom Pryce Thomas Maldwyn Pryce (11 June 1949 – 5 March 1977) was a British racing driver from Wales known for winning the Brands Hatch Race of Champions, a non-championship Formula One race, in 1975 and for the circumstances surrounding his death ...

Development

The Shadow DN5 was designed by

Tony Southgate Tony Southgate (born 25 May 1940, Coventry, England) is a British engineer and former racing car designer. He designed many successful cars, including Jaguar's Le Mans-winning XJR-9, and cars for almost every type of circuit racing. He was respon ...

. A development of the previous year's

DN3 DN3 ( ro, Drumul Național 3) is a national road in Romania, originally linking Bucharest and Constanța via Călărași, but no longer serving this purpose for more than four decades. The road is not complete, in the sense of having a gap across ...

, the DN5 was more aerodynamically refined and had its weight distribution rearranged. It was updated into a 'B' specification for the following season, prior to which

Universal Oil Products Honeywell UOP, formerly known as UOP LLC or Universal Oil Products, is an American multi-national company developing and delivering technology to the petroleum refining, gas processing, petrochemical production, and major manufacturing industries. ...

, the team's major sponsor, withdrew its financial support.Nye, 1986, pp. 233–234

Racing history

1975

The DN5 proved to be a fast car, which qualified well several times. In fact, for the first race of the season, the

Argentine Grand Prix The Argentine Grand Prix (Spanish: ''Gran Premio de Argentina'') was a round of the Formula One championship, held intermittently from to , all at the same autodrome in the Argentine national capital of Buenos Aires. Origins and history The Bu ...

, Jarier, the team leader qualified the DN5 on pole. However, on race day, the car failed to complete the warmup lap due to a crown wheel and pinion failure in the gearbox. Jarier took pole again for the following

Brazilian Grand Prix The Brazilian Grand Prix ( pt, Grande Prêmio do Brasil), currently held under the name São Paulo Grand Prix ( pt, Grande Prêmio de São Paulo), is a Formula One championship race which is currently held at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace ...

, but retired on lap 32, having led for most of the race (and achieving fastest lap). Ultimately, the poor reliability of the car (and some driver induced errors) meant that Jarier finished only two races during the season. The best of these was fourth at the

Spanish Grand Prix The Spanish Grand Prix ( es, Gran Premio de España, ca, Gran Premi d'Espanya) is a Formula One motor racing event currently held at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The race is one of the oldest in the world still contested, celebrating it ...

, for which he was awarded half points due to the race being stopped as a result of a bad crash. He also switched to a Matra V12 powered

DN7 DN7 ( ro, Drumul Național 7) is a national road in Romania which links Bucharest with the Banat region, in western Romania, and further to the eastern European capitals Budapest and Belgrade via the border with Hungary at Nădlac. It is a high- ...

for two races towards the end of the season. An updated version of the previous year's DN3 was driven by

for the first two races of the year before he switched to the DN5. Pryce fared better than Jarier with the DN5 and managed several finishes; he finished sixth three times, finished fourth in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and third in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. He had qualified on pole for the

British Grand Prix The British Grand Prix is a Grand Prix motor race organised in the United Kingdom by the Royal Automobile Club. First held in 1926, the British Grand Prix has been held annually since 1948 and has been a round of the FIA Formula One World C ...

, but like Jarier in Brazil, retired from the lead in the race itself.Hodges, 2001, p. 208

1976

The DN5 was updated into a 'B' specification for the

. However, while the reliability of the DN5B was much improved from its parent, it was not as competitive, at least during the latter part of the year. Jarier qualified his DN5B third on the grid in the

and ran second for much of the race before crashing. This left Pryce to take third place, the best result for the team during the year. While both drivers regularly finished in the top ten, there was only one other finish in the points for the DN5B, this being Pryce's fourth place in the

. From the

Dutch Grand Prix The Dutch Grand Prix ( nl, Grote Prijs van Nederland) is a Formula One motor racing event held at Circuit Zandvoort, North Holland, the Netherlands, from 1950 to 1985 and from 2021 onwards. It was a part of the World Championship from 1952, ...

, Pryce switched to Shadow's new car, the

Shadow DN8 The Shadow DN8 was a Formula One car used by the Shadow team during the 1976, 1977 and 1978 Formula One seasons. Driven by Alan Jones, it won the 1977 Austrian Grand Prix, Shadow's only Grand Prix victory. Development The Shadow DN8 was concept ...

, while Jarier continued with the old car.

1977

The DN5B continued into the

1977 Formula One season The 1977 Formula One season was the 31st season of the FIA's Formula One motor racing. It featured the 28th World Championship of Drivers and the 20th International Cup for Formula 1 Constructors, which commenced on 9 January 1977, and ended on 2 ...

, driven by Shadow's new driver,

Renzo Zorzi Renzo Zorzi (12 December 1946 – 15 May 2015) was a racing driver from Italy who participated in seven Formula One Grands Prix between 1975 and 1977, for the Williams and Shadow teams. He began in Formula Three while working with Pirelli before ...

, in the two first races of the year. While he retired from the

, Zorzi scored an attrition assisted sixth place in the last race for the DN5B, the

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

) (Results in bold indicate pole position; results in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap.) * 3 points scored in 1976 were with the DN8
° 22 points scored in 1977 were with the DN8

Notes

References

* * {{F1 cars 1977 Shadow Formula One cars