The Ligier JS39 was a

Formula One car A Formula One car (also known as an F1 car) is a single-seat, open-cockpit, open-wheel formula racing car with substantial front and rear wings, and an engine positioned behind the driver, intended to be used in competition at Formul ...

used by the

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 ...

team during the

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...

and

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...

Formula One seasons.

Ligier JS39

The engine was the

Renault Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufacture ...

RS5 3.5

V10 A V10 engine is a ten-cylinder piston engine where two banks of five cylinders are arranged in a V configuration around a common crankshaft. V10 engines are much less common than V8 and V12 engines. Several V10 diesel engines have been pr ...

. The number 25 chassis was driven by experienced Briton

Martin Brundle Martin John Brundle (born 1 June 1959) is a British former racing driver, best known as a Formula One driver and as a commentator for ITV Sport from 1997 to 2008, the BBC from 2009 to 2011, and Sky Sports since 2012. Brundle contested the 1 ...

and the number 26 driven by

Mark Blundell Mark Blundell (born 8 April 1966) is a British racing driver who competed in Formula One for four seasons, sports cars, and CART. He won the 1992 24 Hours of Le Mans. He was a Formula One presenter for the British broadcaster ITV until the en ...

. The team did not employ a test driver. The main sponsor was French tobacco company

Gitanes Gitanes (, " Gypsy women") is a French brand of cigarettes, owned and manufactured by Imperial Tobacco following their acquisition of Altadis in January 2008, having been owned by SEITA before that. History Gitanes was launched in 1910 in fo ...

. The team used a

semi-automatic gearbox A semi-automatic transmission is a "theoretical" multiple-speed transmission where part of its operation is automated (typically the actuation of the clutch), but the driver's input would be required to launch the vehicle from a standstill and to ...

for the first time, but retained passive suspension. The car was relatively successful for the team, achieving 3 podium finishes, and 23 constructor points.

Ligier JS39B

For , the car was upgraded to 'B' specification. The number 26 seat was occupied by

Olivier Panis Olivier Panis (; born 2 September 1966) is a French former racing driver. Panis raced in Formula One for ten seasons, earning his first and only win at the 1996 Monaco Grand Prix for the Ligier team. He is the father of racing driver Auréli ...

for the whole year, however, the number 25 seat was taken by

Éric Bernard Éric Bernard (born 24 August 1964) is a retired French Formula One racing driver, who drove in Formula One from 1989 to 1994 for the Ligier, Larrousse and Lotus teams. His best finish in Formula One was third place at the German Grand Prix in ...

Johnny Herbert John Paul "Johnny" Herbert (born 25 June 1964) is a British former racing driver and current television announcer for Sky Sports F1. He raced in Formula One from 1989 to 2000, for seven different teams, winning three races and placing 4th in ...

and

Franck Lagorce Franck Lagorce (born 1 September 1968 in L'Haÿ-les-Roses) is a racing driver from France. He participated in two Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 6 November 1994. He scored no championship points. Career Lagorce competed in French Formula Fo ...

. The team's test driver was Lagorce. The engine was a Renault RS6 3.5 V10. The team's main sponsor was again Gitanes. The car did not perform as well as in 1993 but was reliable, enabling Panis and Bernard to finish 2nd and 3rd respectively in the German Grand Prix. The team scored only two other points finishes for the rest of the season. The JS39B was also tested by

Michael Schumacher Michael Schumacher (; ; born 3 January 1969) is a German former racing driver who competed in Formula One for Jordan, Benetton, Ferrari, and Mercedes. Schumacher has a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles (tied with Lewis ...

Estoril Estoril () is a town in the Municipality of Cascais, Portugal, on the Portuguese Riviera. It is a tourist destination, with luxury hotels, beaches, and the Casino Estoril. It has been home to numerous royal families and celebrities, and has h ...

in early 1994, at the request of Flavio Briatore, who became the owner of the

team, after the team was purchased by

Tom Walkinshaw Thomas Dobbie Thomson Walkinshaw (14 August 1946 – 12 December 2010) was a British racing car driver from Scotland and the founder of the racing team Tom Walkinshaw Racing (TWR). He was also involved in professional rugby union, as owner of ...

and Briatore in 1994.

Complete Formula One results

( key) (results in bold indicate pole position; results in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

References

Technical specifications
1993 Formula One season cars 1994 Formula One season cars Ligier Formula One cars {{F1-stub