The Ligier JS21 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, ...
racing car manufactured and raced by
Ligier
Ligier (() is a French automobile and minibus maker created by former racing driver and rugby player Guy Ligier (1930–2015), specialized in the manufacturing of microcars.
Ligier is best known for its involvement in the Formula 1 World Champ ...
during the
1983 Formula One season
The 1983 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 37th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1983 Formula One World Championship for Drivers and the 1983 Formula One World Championship for Constructors, which were conteste ...
. Powered by a Cosworth V8 engine while the majority of teams used turbo power, the team failed to score any points.
Development
The JS21 was designed by
Claude Galopin under the technical direction of Michel Beaujon. Henri Durand worked on the car's aerodynamics.
[ Having used ]Talbot
Talbot was an automobile marque introduced in 1902 by English-French company Clément-Talbot. The founders, Charles Chetwynd-Talbot, 20th Earl of Shrewsbury and Adolphe Clément-Bayard, reduced their financial interests in their Clément-Talbot ...
engines for the previous two seasons, the JS21 was designed to be powered by a Ford Cosworth DFV
The DFV is an internal combustion engine that was originally produced by Cosworth for Formula One motor racing. The name is an abbreviation of ''Double Four Valve'', the engine being a V8 development of the earlier four-cylinder FVA, which had fo ...
.[Nye, 1985, p. 194] Ligier was the first choice to be the recipient of the then-new Honda turbo engine due to team owner Guy Ligier's longstanding relationship with Honda but the team declined to use it.[Nye, 1985, p. 194]
Racing history
The Ligier team recruited two new drivers for the 1983 season, Jean-Pierre Jarier
Jean-Pierre Jacques Jarier (born 10 July 1946) is a French former Grand Prix racing driver. He drove for Formula One teams including Shadow, Team Lotus, Ligier, Osella and Tyrrell Racing. His best finish was third (three times) and he also to ...
, who had a single outing for the team back in 1977, and Brazilian novice Raul Boesel
Raul de Mesquita Boesel (, born 4 December 1957) is a Brazilian former racing driver who raced for the March and Ligier Formula One teams and later raced in Champ Car and the Indy Racing League.
He won the 1987 World Sportscar Championship and t ...
. Jarier qualified for every race with a best grid placing of 9th, at the Monaco Grand Prix. His best finish was 7th 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 ...
. For most of the season, Boesel usually qualified several places behind Jarier but improved towards the season's end although he did miss qualifying for the Austrian and Italian races. His best qualifying was 17th, in the season opening Brazilian Grand Prix, and he achieved his best finish of 7th the following race in the United States.[
1983 was the first season in the team's history that it failed to score a single point. For the following year, team owner ]Guy Ligier
Guy Camille Ligier (12 July 1930 – 23 August 2015) was a French racing driver and team owner. He maintained many varied and successful careers over the course of his life, including rugby player, butcher, racing driver and Formula One team owner ...
secured the use of Renault V6 turbocharged engines.[
]
Complete Formula One World Championship results
( key) (Results in bold indicate pole position; results in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Notes
References
*
{{F1 cars 1983
Ligier JS21